On a day when the Yankees were scheduled to play (at least) 18 innings, they got off to a rough start through the first nine innings.
With muddy conditions and a tough game from Lewis Hill, the game wasn’t always pretty, or efficient.
But the Yankees won the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday night, 5-2 against the Angels in the Bronx, thanks to strong performances from their top hitters.
On a day that felt more like April than August, Alex Verdugo, Aaron Judge and Austin Wells each had two hits and one RBI as the Yankees (68-46) won for the eighth time in their last nine games.
Gil threw a career-high 107 pitches through the fifth inning, but left seven runners on base to prevent the Angels from scoring.
The rookie right-hander walked five batters but allowed just two hits and struck out six, providing timely pitching when it mattered.
Gill’s start began with 30 pitches in the first inning and 25 in the second, but the Yankees had gained an early lead during that time, giving Gill an opportunity to pitch.
Verdugo led off the bottom of the first inning with a double off right-hander Davis Daniel, then walked Judge with the count full with one out.
The walk was (completely) unintentional, but Wells got Daniel to single the other way to put the Yankees up 1-0.
Then, with two outs, Anthony Volpe hit a double to left field for a 2-0 lead.
Oswaldo Cabrera made his seventh start of the season, pinch-hitting for Gleyber Torres in the first of a back-to-back games, and extended the lead with a solo home run to right field in the second inning.
Manager Aaron Boone said before the game that Cabrera had performed well in his scattered playing time and “earned some opportunities.”
The utility man went 1-for-3 with 1 walk on Wednesday but is currently batting .302 with an .819 OPS over his past 18 games.
The Yankees missed a golden opportunity in the third inning when Wells and Judge advanced to second and third with no outs, but they caught up again in the fourth.
Ben Rice walked and scored on a Verdugo double one out later to make it 4-0.
With two outs, Judge smashed a ball through left field to put the Yankees up 5-0.
The Angels finally got their lead in the seventh inning when Zach Neto hit a two-run homer off relief pitcher Jake Cousins.
This forced the Yankees to use Luke Weaver and Clay Holmes for the final two innings, but both relievers pitched perfect innings, striking out two batters each to seal the win.
