Yankees offense erupts vs. Yu Darvish to clinch series win

Betelhem Ashame

NEW YORK -- Sunday was supposed to be a battle of aces. It turned into anything but.

With Gerrit Cole matched up against the Padres’ Yu Darvish, it was the Yankees’ bats that stole the show en route to a 10-7 victory in the series finale at Yankee Stadium, as New York claimed the series win over San Diego. The Bombers batted around in a seven-run third inning, knocking Darvish out of the game and dealing him his worst loss of the season.

"Man, just a string of really good at-bats," said manager Aaron Boone. " … When everyone's contributing and a threat, that's big, especially against a guy like Darvish. It's not easy to string hits together; usually, you get a couple guys on base and then it's a big hit -- extra-base hit or homer or something.

"Today, it was just really good contact after really good contact. They were squaring them up well, and credit to them. Good to see everyone, up and down, [be] a threat."

That eruption allowed Cole to improve to 6-0 with a 2.93 ERA despite giving up six runs (five earned) with three walks in six-plus innings. He punched out nine Padres, coming just one shy of his 24th double-digit-strikeout game as a Yankee, which would surpass Ron Guidry for the most in franchise history. New York is 10-2 in Cole's 12 starts this year.

In front of the largest Bronx crowd of the season, with 47,295 fans in attendance for the holiday weekend rubber match, the Yankees staked Cole to a big advantage early. Their seven runs in the third matched their highest output in one frame this season, sitting alongside their fifth-inning outburst in a May 10 rout of the A's.

"They had [Darvish] on the ropes, and with a guy like that, he's always one or two pitches away from kind of regaining control," Cole said. "I just thought their mentality -- they were so prepared and so locked in and so focused. It's such a blessing for a pitcher to have an offense like that, that can string together that dynamic of an inning to really put yourself in a position to win the game. It's a nice luxury to have."

The Yankees strung together five consecutive hits to open the third, including a leadoff double from Kyle Higashioka and RBI singles from Anthony Volpe, Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo. Only a stellar catch at the top of the wall from Padres center fielder Trent Grisham, robbing DJ LeMahieu of a three-run home run, ended that stretch.

But the Yanks kept it going soon thereafter, with Harrison Bader hustling down the first-base line to prevent a potential double-play ball. Willie Calhoun followed it up with a run-scoring double that relieved Darvish of his duties, then Isiah Kiner-Falefa added an RBI single of his own and Higashioka hit an RBI double before the inning was through.

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It was the type of response Judge expected after what unfolded in the prior inning. Padres left fielder José Azocar notched a Little League home run after a pair of errors in the field, as Bader sailed a ball well above home plate from center, then Higashioka airmailed a throw of his own to third base.

"I think everybody was a little upset at themselves. We made a couple of bad mistakes on defense that shouldn't happen," said the Yanks’ captain, who hit a solo shot in the first and then possibly robbed a homer in the second. "Especially when you’ve got your ace on the mound, things like that can't happen. Against a good team like this, they’re going to capitalize. So I think everybody stepped up and said, ‘Hey, let's answer back here and get back to what we do.’"

The Yankees did that and more, and they added some insurance runs as well courtesy of Bader and Higashioka in the eighth. Bader smacked his sixth homer of the season, while Higashioka contributed an RBI single a few batters later.

That kept Cole's undefeated record intact, as he joined the Rays’ Shane McClanahan as the only pitchers to go 6-0 or better so far this season.

"Gerrit, he's been carrying us for quite a few years, and especially early on in the year when the offense really wasn't clicking the way we should. He went out there every five days and was dominating," Judge said. "There's going to be games like this throughout the season where he doesn't have his stuff and gives up a couple of runs, but that's where our offense -- we've got to help him out and pick him up. We did that today."