Rice's 30th homer not enough as Pirates outlast Yankees
- Davis Cornell
- Jul 22
- 4 min read
The Pirates took down the Yankees 5-3 in extra innings to even the series. Gerrit Cole got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against Mitch Keller.
Cole worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 top of the first inning on just 11 pitches and notched his first strikeout of the ballgame.
Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Spencer Jones went three up, three down in the bottom half of the first inning.
Cole struck out the side in order in the top half of the second inning to quickly put his total up to four strikeouts and looked like his vintage Cy Young self. Cole also worked a 1-2-3 top of the third inning and tallied two more strikeouts, putting him up to six.
Cole retired the Pirates in order in the top of the fourth inning on just 13 pitches. Jones and Cody Bellinger each worked walks to start the bottom of the fourth inning. But Jasson Dominguez flew out, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. and José Caballero both struck out to end the inning.
Cole allowed his first base runner on a single with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. The next batter, Jacob Gonzalez, crushed a two-run bomb, giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
With one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, Austin Wells dunked a bloop single into left field; Grisham followed with a single up the middle. However, Rice struck out and wasted the Yankees' last challenge, then Jones flew out.
Cole allowed a single with one out in the top of the sixth, and a balk advanced that runner up to second. But Cole recorded his season-high 11th strikeout of the game and picked up a pop out to end the frame. Cole's most strikeouts in a game since August 25, 2023, the year he won his Cy Young.
Caballero’s pitch clock antics caused home plate umpire Quin Wolcott to give him a pitch clock violation and Aaron Boone and hitting coach James Rowson were arguing, leading to Rowson being ejected.
With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Nick Gonzales crushed a solo home run to extend the Pirates' lead to 3-0.
Ryan McMahon led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a ground rule double. Wells followed with a walk to put two aboard with nobody out. A few batters later, Rice crushed a game-tying three-run bomb into the second deck in right field, his 30th of the season.
Brent Headrick replaced Cole in the top half of the eighth inning and struck out the side in order.
Cole's final line: Seven innings pitched, four hits allowed, three earned runs, didn't walk anyone, and struck out 11 on 93 pitches. He threw his fastball 51% of the time, the changeup 18%, the slider 15%, the knuckle curve 15%, and the sinker 1%. Cole topped out at 98.8 mph, sitting at 96.9, and had 21 whiffs.
The Yankees closer, David Bednar, got the call for the top of the ninth and allowed a leadoff single on a play that McMahon could have made, then walked a batter with one out. But he picked up a huge strikeout, and Rice made a great play to give the Yankees a chance to walk it off in the bottom half of the inning.
Grisham was able to draw a one-out free pass in the bottom of the ninth inning. But Rice and Amed Rosario, who pinch-hit for Jones, both struck out to send this game to extra innings.
Fernando Cruz came in relief for Bednar in the top of the 10th and allowed an RBI single to Jared Triolo to give the Pirates a 4-3 lead. Jake Mangum followed with an RBI single of his own to make it a 5-3 game. Kervin Castro, who was called up a few days ago, replaced Cruz with the bases loaded and one out and picked up a couple of strikeouts to keep the Yankees within striking distance.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, the Yankees went down without much of a fight as Belli struck out, Dominguez and Jazz both popped out to end the ballgame.
The Yankees will look to bounce back in the nightcap with Max Fried on the mound, making his first start since May 13, facing off against Bubba Chandler. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. ET on the YES Network.
My thoughts on the game: Unfortunate loss for the Yankees; it would have been nice if they could have found a way to win, considering they used all their high-leverage bullpen arms in the first game of a doubleheader. Great start from Cole; that was the best I have seen him in a long time. Headrick was dominant yet again; he is quickly turning into one of my favorite guys to watch in the Yankees bullpen. Bednar didn't have his best stuff, but he still found a way to get the job done and work a scoreless inning. Poor performance from Cruz, walking a couple of batters and allowing a pair of hits. Castro did a great job of limiting Cruz’s mess with a couple of strikeouts. Not a great game from the Yankees offense with just six hits and three runs. All three of those runs came via Rice’s homer. Rice became the 5th Yankee draft pick to have a 30-HR season, joining Don Mattingly, Mike Pagliarulo, Jorge Posada, and Aaron Judge. Way to many wasted opportunities for the Yankees, leaving 10 runners on base and going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. On to tonight as the Yankees are in a tough spot with Fried on about a 60-pitch count and their three most high-leverage relievers most likely unavailable.
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