Sanchez and Dickerson hit walk-off homers to the jubilation of Yankees, Pirates
>> NEW YORK: Gary Sanchez hit a threerun homer with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off Fernando Rodney as the New York Yankees extended their winning streak with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.
Sanchez upped New York’s winning streak to six by lifting a 154kph fastball into the left field seats off Rodney (1-2). The Twins finished their first 0-7 road trip since Aug 10-16, 2001.
It was the catcher’s sixth homer of the season and first walk-off homer and hit. It was New York’s first walkoff homer since Brett Gardner had one last on July 27 versus Tampa Bay. Dellin Betances (1-1) struck out the side in the ninth for New York.
Before Sanchez won it, Rodney was betrayed by some shaky defence from third baseman Miguel Sano. Sano committed a throwing error on a ball hit by Didi Gregorius and then cut in front of shortstop Ehire Adrianza on a grounder by Giancarlo Stanton.
Corey Dickerson hit his first career walk-off home run to give Pittsburgh the 1-0 win over visiting Detroit with one out in the bottom of the ninth on a ball that barely made it into the right field stands off Detroit reliever Alex Wilson (0-3). The win validated a stellar performance by Ivan Nova. The Pirates starter did not get a decision but pitched eight shut-out innings, using only 81 pitches.
He allowed six hits — never more than one in any inning — while striking out five. For his fourth start in a row, he did not walk a batter.
Pirates closer Felipe Vasquez (1-0) got into and out of a basesloaded, no-out jam in the ninth with two groundouts sandwiched around a popup to preserve the shut-out. Detroit starter Michael Fulmer also had a strong outing. Fulmer pitched six scoreless innings, giving up four hits, striking out nine and walking one.
Kyle Schwarber homered, and Kyle Hendricks pitched seven shutout innings to help Chicago beat visiting Milwaukee 1-0, halting Milwaukee’s eight-game winning streak.
Schwarber homered in the sixth inning off Brewers right-hander Chase Anderson (2-2), while Hendricks (2-1) allowed four hits, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter in his best effort of the season.
Brandon Morrow allowed two hits in the ninth but picked up his fifth save in the two-hour, 22-minute contest. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant sat out his third straight game for the Cubs after getting hit on the helmet on a pitch on Sunday.
JD Martinez hit a go-ahead threerun homer in the fifth inning as Boston won 5-4 at Toronto. The Red Sox took the final two games of the three-game series.
Boston’s Chris Sale (2-1) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks while striking out four in six innings. Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth to earn his seventh save of the season. Devon Travis and Justin Smoak homered for the Blue Jays.