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ATLANTA — A high-scoring offense, particularly one that crushes home runs, has a way of putting Wite-Out on a team’s problems.
Exhibit A: The Yankees.
On a night when poor fundamentals and a leaky bullpen nearly cost them again, Anthony Volpe’s two-homer game fueled a comeback to tie it by the eighth inning after the Yankees had trailed by as many as five runs.
That set the stage for Trent Grisham, who delivered a grand slam with two outs in the top of the ninth off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias to lift the Yankees to a stirring 12-9 win on Saturday night at Truist Park.
“Today was a huge win and hopefully a momentum switch in our favor to just re-believe that this is who we are, this is what we can do on a daily basis and just gain control of that dog mentality,” said Luke Weaver, who got five big outs, the first two after he entered the game with the bases loaded in the seventh inning and got out of it unscathed.
At risk of losing a fourth straight game and falling a season-high four games out of first place in the AL East, the Yankees (54-44) began the ninth inning with a double from Paul Goldschmidt before the Braves (43-54) intentionally walked Aaron Judge with one out.
Giancarlo Stanton then drew a walk to load the bases, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed by lining out to a leaping Nacho Alvarez Jr. at third base.
Grisham saved the day, though, clobbering a slider to right-center field for his 17th home run of the year to break an 8-8 tie in dramatic fashion.
“I like feeling calm,” Grisham said. “I like to know that it’s the biggest moment of the game and just the slowness feeling that I feel in the box, that’s the funnest part for me.”
Devin Williams gave up a run in the bottom of the ninth but then closed the door on a night when four of five relievers gave up a run.
The Yankees trailed 5-0 after four innings when Volpe crushed his first home run of the night, a two-run shot in the top of the fifth.
He came close to hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning, but settled for a sacrifice fly to the warning track as part of a four-run rally that pulled the Yankees within 7-6.
And then with one out in the eighth inning, the Yankees trailing 8-7, Volpe tied it up by going deep again for his first career multi-home run game.
“When you put in the work, you expect to help the team and help the team win,” said Volpe, who was in a 12-for-100 skid before his first homer. “So when you feel like you do that, it’s a good night. … I have high standards for myself. Any of the stuff on the outside doesn’t come close to the standard I hold myself to.”
A night after Jorbit Vivas’ baserunning mistake loomed over a 7-3 loss, Will Warren’s fundamental miscue put an exclamation point on a terrible four-run fourth inning that he did not survive.
The right-hander had already given up a three-run home run to Ozzie Albies that made it a 4-0 game — Albies’ second in as many nights — but then put runners on first and second with two outs.
Nick Allen came up and hit a ground ball off of first base, where Paul Goldschmidt ranged to his right to collect it. Warren did not immediately race to cover first, allowing Allen to hustle down the line for an infield single. But while Warren was receiving the throw at first, Alvarez never stopped running around third base and came in to score, putting the Braves ahead 5-0.
“I think it’s a little product too of being his 40th pitch of the inning and you’re fatigued and sometimes that’s when you can make some mental mistakes,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But we work on that a lot and we got to be there and react to it.”
The play ended Warren’s night after 3 ²/₃ innings, and when he returned to the dugout, he punched the ceiling with his right hand, though he said it was fine. But his offense picked him up.
It was a 7-2 game in the sixth inning when the Yankees mounted a four-run rally with RBIs from Chisholm, Grisham, Volpe and Austin Wells.
Then, after the Braves made it 8-6 in the bottom of the sixth, Cody Bellinger got the run right back by leading off the top of the seventh with a solo shot.
“I think it just shows and encourages everybody that we’re in every game,” Grisham said. “We have a lot of fight, so I think it’s big for us going forward, knowing that no matter what game we get in down the stretch that we’re in it.”
