Holliday bash
Matt caps 10-run rally wit h HR in 10th
The Yankees have defied the odds throughout the first month of the season — never more so than on Friday night.
Storming back from what had been an eight-run deficit, they won their third straight game when Matt Holliday crushed the Yankees’ fifth homer of the night in the bottom of the 10th to complete a wild comeback in a 14-11 victory over the Orioles in The Bronx.
“It’s hard to envision coming back from 9-1 in the major leagues, but as far as hitting some home runs and having a good offense, I thought we had that,” Holliday said.
They certainly did on Friday, as they homered their way back into the game after CC Sabathia and Bryan Mitchell dug a huge hole by the middle of the sixth.
But then Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning — his second of the night.
Joe Girardi said that shot “gave us a feeling of ‘ Here we go.’ It got us to 9-4 and kind of triggered something.”
After Mitchell gave up two runs in the top of the seventh, Jacoby Ellsbury — hitting cleanup again — followed with his first career grand slam in the bottom of the inning to spark the Yankees again.
“When he hits the grand slam, you’re thinking ‘We have a chance to win this game,’ ” Holliday said.
Still, it wasn’t until Starlin Castro hit a two-run shot off of Brad Brach — filling in for in- jured closer Zach Britton — in the bottom of the ninth that the Yankees tied the score.
Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless 10th before Holliday ended it.
Aaron Hicks and Kyle Higashioka walked against Jayson Aquino, who then struck out Chase Headley before Holliday sent his homer out to rightcenter.
“I thought I hit it good,” Holliday said. “I was hesitant to get too excited because Adam Jones was out there [in center] and if it’s just clearing the fence, he’s got a chance. … It’s exciting to come back from such a big deficit and finish the job.”
With the victory, the Yankees improved to 9-1 at home and moved into a first-place tie with Baltimore (14-7). And while it’s early, before Friday night, the Yankees hadn’t had a share of first place since August 24, 2015.
After beating the Red Sox twice in a row with pitching this week, the Yankees flexed their muscles against Baltimore.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time the Yankees won a game they trailed by eight runs since 2012.
The comeback bailed out Sabathia, who surrendered seven runs in 5 2/3 innings and Mitchell, who coughed up four runs in just two-thirds of an inning, as the Orioles went deep three times — including a monstrous shot by Manny Machado that cleared Monument Park in the fifth and a grand slam by Mark Trumbo in the sixth.
In the top of the 10th, Chapman, who struggled with his command in wet conditions in Boston on Wednesday, retired the first two batters before Trumbo’s comebacker caught him on his pitching hand and went for an infield single. Chapman stayed in the game and whiffed Chris Davis, setting up Holliday’s dramatics.
Coming off a game against the Red Sox in which he drove in two key runs, Holliday singled, doubled and walked before coming to the plate with one out in the 10th against Brach.
“The good thing about this team is we have a lot of firepower,’’ Holliday said. “We can hit homers and get people on base and I think that’s a good recipe to come back in a game like that.”