ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — DJ LeMahieu hardly ever shows emotion between the lines, so his modest celebration after rounding first base must have meant his…
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — DJ LeMahieu hardly ever shows emotion between the lines, so his modest celebration after rounding first base must have meant his ninth-inning hit was something even bigger than the moment.
Whether it’s a 5-0 deficit in the sixth inning or their dismaying list of injured stars, these New York Yankees are surmounting every obstacle with an early season determination that’s already worth cheering.
LeMahieu singled home Tyler Wade with the tiebreaking run in the ninth, and the Yankees rallied from a five-run deficit for their sixth consecutive victory, 6-5 over the hapless Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.
« We don’t have our big dogs, but we’re finding a way, and it feels good, » LeMahieu said. « We’ve got a lot of good players. That speaks to this organization. It’s not how we drew it up in spring training, but we’re getting wins and having fun. »
The ninth-inning rally was pure grit: Wade made up for an earlier baserunning mishap with a two-out single off Ty Buttrey (1-1). After Wade stole second, LeMahieu was down to his last strike before he popped a short single to right, driving in his third run of the night and celebrating with one enthusiastic clap of his hands.
New York is still without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Troy Tulowitzki, all among a revolving dozen players on its injured list. The Yankees shrugged it all off and rallied to win at Angel Stadium for a franchise-record sixth straight time.
This one looked unlikely after CC Sabathia fell short of recording his 3,000th career strikeout while yielding four earned runs and six hits over five innings.
Andrelton Simmons hit two homers off Sabathia, and Kole Calhoun added a three-run homer during the Los Angeles’ four-run fourth inning.
