The Yankees came back yet again but to no avail as the Royals avoided a sweep at Yankee Stadium on Sunday in an 8-6 victory.
Takeaways from the game
1) Clay Holmes had a chance for his 18th save of the season, but Salvador Perez had other things in mind. He smashed a three-run homer after Holmes fell into more location issues with that patented sinker. It's the first homer he gave up all season, and it made it a 8-6 game.
2) It was a slow start but the Yankees eventually found their bearing at the dish. And it was Anthony Rizzo in the bottom of the seventh that gave the Yanks their first lead of the day after belting a second-decker to right field for three runs, making it a 6-4 game.
3) Before Rizzo’s game-changing blast, the Yankees had to battle their way back from a 4-0 deficit. After Kyle Higashioka singled home Matt Carpenter, DJ LeMahieu hammered a two-run bomb to right field. He’s been red hot of late coming into the game with a .324/.439/.529 slash line and .968 OPS since the All-Star break. That’s also his third homer of the second half.
4) Jordan Montgomery started off the game strong, having totaled six strikeouts through the first four innings and retiring 11 straight batters up until the fifth. Then, the wheels fell off. He let up two straight walks followed by three straight hits, including a two-RBI single for Nick Pratto and RBI double for Maikel Garcia.
Montgomery left the game allowing three earned on four hits and two walks over just four innings of work. That’s back-to-back tough outings for Montgomery, who didn’t make it through three innings against the Mets last time out.
5) He’s been doing well of late but Ron Marinaccio fell into some trouble in the top of the eighth inning that threatened the lead. Hunter Dozier hit a solo homer to cut the lead to 6-5 in favor of the home team. But, with runners on first and second with one out, Marinaccio got Pratto to roll into a double play to escape any further damage.