On Tuesday night, the Baltimore Orioles and theNew York Yankeesoffered an exciting game to fans.
The Orioles took the lead at 5-4 in the sixth inning, just in time for starter Kyle Bradish to give way to their excellent bullpen.
Mychal Givens pitched a clean inning, and then the nightmare started for the Yanks: Yennier Cano for two frames and closer Felix Bautista for one.
Cano did his part of the deal, but Yankees slugger Aaron Judge solved Bautista and hit a game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
This was a new beginning for New York, who won it in the tenth with a sacrifice fly by Anthony Volpe.
Judge has hit 234 home runs in his fantastic career.
Yet last night s long ball was a first.
Aaron Judge: 1st career HR that tied the game in the 9th inning or later
Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) May 24, 2023
Yes, that s right: it was Judge s first game-tying home run in the ninth inning of a game or later.
Now, that doesn t mean he hasn t hit go-ahead homers at that instance in the past, because he has.
The stat, however, specifically talks about game-tying long balls.
The most painful thing for Bautista and the Orioles is that he had Judge at a 0-2 count.
But he hung a breaking pitch in the middle of the zone, and that s a mistake he wasn t going to get away with.
He has been carrying the Yankees as they continue to creep closer to the AL East lead.
