A 10-run seventh inning leads the Yankees to a 12-3 win over the Padres

New York—The Yankees bounced back in a big way in game two of this three-game series tonight against the Padres, following a brutal loss in game one. Clarke Schmidt took the ball for the Yankees, and Michael King got the start for the Padres. 

Schmidt worked around a two-out double from Jackson Merrill and a single from Manny Machado in the top of the third; Schmidt also picked up his first strikeout of the ballgame. 

Some poor communication from Anthony Volpe and Trent Grisham allowed a ball to drop in no man's land in shallow center field in the top of the second. But Schmidt induced a 5-4-3 double play to end the frame. 

Schmidt picked up his second strikeout of the game and worked around a one-out single with some help from a second double play in three innings. 

In the top of the fourth inning, Manny Machado led off with a single, then Jackson Merrill followed that up with a single, then a walk loaded the bases. A balk from Schmidt allowed a run to score and make it 1-0. Then Jason Heyward picked up a sac fly to make it a 2-0 Padres lead.  

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Aaron Judge launched his 12th home run of the season into the short porch in right field to make it a 2-1 game. Then Cody Bellinger worked a walk, the next batter Jasson Dominguez lined a single to right center, and Bellinger went first to third, then came in to score on a throwing error from Padres right fielder Fernando Tatís Jr. to make it a 2-2 game. 

In the top of the fifth inning, Schmidt worked around a leadoff single by picking off former Yankee Tyler Wade at first base after a successful challenge. Schmidt then picked up a rare strikeout of Luiz Areez for his third punchout of the game. 

In the top of the seventh, Tim Hill replaced Schmidt on the mound. Hill gave up two singles in the three batters he faced. Fernando Cruz replaced Hill on the mound, and with two out, Fernando Tatis Jr. picked up an RBI double to make it a 3-2 Padres lead. 

Clarke Schmidt's final line: six innings pitched, seven hits allowed, two earned runs, one walk, and four strikeouts on 85 pitches. Schmidt threw the cutter 40% of the time, the sweeper 34%, the knuckle curve 19%, and the sinker 7% of the time. Clarke worked around traffic most of the game but did a great job limiting the Padres to just two runs and keeping the Yankees in the game.

"I think that's the name of my game," Schmidt said, on working out of jams tonight. "Obviously, I'm not trying to put myself in those situations, but when those situations arise, I like to dig my heels in the ground a little bit, dig deep and get big out when I need them... I feel comfortable in those situations."

Jasson Dominguez led off the top of the seventh inning with a hustle double in the left-center gap from the right side of the plate. The next batter, Anthony Volpe, lined a single to center field to put runners at the corners with no outs. The next batter, Austin Wells, delivered a game-tying RBI single to make it 3-3. 

“Yeah, it's fun to watch him run, he can really go,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said about Dominguez's hustle double to lead off the seventh. “Looking back at it, it was a really big play, that kinda set the tone for that inning, and then just great at-bats followed.” 

Then Volpe and Wells executed a double steal; Paul Goldschmidt was then intentionally walked to load the bases. Former Yankee Wandy Peralta came into the game to pitch for the Padres and walked Grisham on four pitches to force in a run and make it a 4-3 Yankees lead. The next batter, down 0-2 in the count, Ben Rice, hit a two-run double down the first base line to make it a 6-3 game.

“Yeah, I think once you get behind their two strikes,” Ben Rice said. “It's just about simplifying everything, being nice and short to the ball, trying to put something in play, and hopefully, something good will happen.” 

 Cody Bellinger kept the hit parade going with an RBI single to right field to make it 7-3. Volpe then picked up a rocket RBI single that hit off the heel of Machado's glove at third to make it an 8-3 game. The next batter, Austin Wells, broke this game wide open with a grand slam into the short porch in right field to make it a 12-3 game and cap off a 10-run seventh inning. The Yankees' first 10–run inning since 2015 and their first 10-run inning in the Bronx since 2011. 

“Yeah, that was amazing,” Rice said about the Yankees' 10-run seventh inning. “Just to break through there, it had been a back-and-forth game, so for everyone to come through there and get some runs across that was big time. I think that can be contagious, a little bit, and give us some good momentum heading into tomorrow.”

Austin Wells' grand slam was the first of his Major League career; he talked about what he was going to remember about that moment postgame.

"Just how long that inning was and how everyone in front of me was working such great at-bats," Wells said. That was a lot of fun to watch and a lot of fun to be a part of."

Tyler Matzek replaced Cruz on the mound and retired the Padres in order in the top of the eighth inning. 

Yerry De Los Santos replaced Matzek on the mound to pick up the final three outs of this ballgame and close it out 12-3. 

The Yankees will look to win the series tomorrow in the rubber match with Max Fried on the mound, facing off against Dylan Cease for the Padres. The first pitch will be on Prime Video at 7:05 p.m. ET. 

My thoughts on the game: Very solid start from Schmidt going toe to toe with King, who has been one of the best starting pitchers in baseball over the last year. I’m not going to lie to you, I didn't like the Yankees' chances to win tonight after going down 3-2 in the seventh against the best bullpen in baseball who was 23-0 on the season going into the seventh inning with a lead until tonight, but the offense exploded in the seventh, scoring 10 runs.  It was a big bounce-back win to snap a three-game losing streak after a heartbreaking loss yesterday. Also, we found out before the game that Carlos Carrasco was DFAed, so now he's history as the Yankees will look to replace him in the rotation. The Yankees are now in a solid spot to still potentially win the series tomorrow with Max Fried on the mound.