It’s a rare sight to see Clay Holmes blow a save this season. It’s even rarer to see the sinker-baller get burned on a home run. Sunday was that weird day in the Bronx when the Yankees closer got burned on a Salvador Perez’s fly ball hammered to the deepest part of the Stadium. The Royals catcher’s three-run home run in the top of the ninth beat the Yankees 8-6.
It was Holmes’ third blown save in his last nine appearances and the first home run he allowed this season. Hitters are rarely able to lift Holmes’ heavy sinker ball, he has a remarkable 4.5% flyball rate. Perez’s shot sailed 441 feet into Monument Park.
In the bottom of the inning, DJ LeMahieu worked an eight-pitch at-bat for a one-out single to bring Aaron Judge to the plate as the tying run. Judge flew out to right field. Anthony Rizzo worked an eight-pitch, two-out walk to bring up Gleyber Torres, who flew out.
That delivered the Yankees (69-33) their first loss in four games. It’s the second loss for the Bombers when they led after eight innings this season, they 55-2 when they head into the ninth with a lead. The Royals (40-62) had already lost the four-game series here, but they did avoid the season sweep.
Until the ninth, Sunday was playing out like one of the Yankees routine come-from-behind wins.
After Amir Garret walked Judge in the seventh inning, Anthony Rizzo made the Royals pay. The first baseman hit his 25th homer, a three-run shot off right-handed reliever Dylan Coleman, giving him 62 RBI on the season. It was Rizzo’s second homer in as many games and the seventh time in his career he’s hit at least 25 homers. It was the first time he’s hit 25 since 2019.
LeMahieu homered in back-to-back games for the first time this season. The two-run homer was his 11th of the season and he’s driven in 42 runs. He had a more DJ LeMahieu-like month of July, hitting .341/.464/.462 with a .926 OPS in the 24 games this month leading into Sunday’s series finale. Kyle Higashioka drove in the Yankees’ other run on a single.
Veteran right-hander Zack Greinke held the Yankees to three runs, all earned, on five hits, including a home run. He struck out three and walked two over five innings pitched.
Jordan Montgomery went four innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out six. Over his last two starts, Montgomery has allowed nine runs in 6.1 innings pitched.
The lefty cruised through the first four innings, retiring 11 straight after a first-inning single to Bobby Witt, Jr. In the fourth, he lost the strike zone. He walked the first two batters he faced and gave up back-to-back singles to MJ Melendez and Nick Pratto. Two runs scored on Pratto’s fly ball single to left. Maikel Garcia doubled to drive in another and Whit Merrifield’s groundout to shortstop off Albert Abreu allowed another to score.
Ron Marinaccio, who had not given up a hit since June 7, gave up his first run since April 28 when Hunter Dozier led off the eighth with a home run off the right-handed reliever. That snapped a streak of 19 scoreless innings and 56 straight batters without giving up a hit.
Jonathan Loaisiga, who had not pitched since Wednesday night’s loss to the Mets, pitched a scoreless inning. Albert Abreu, who had been designated for assignment by the Royals earlier this season, went 1.2 scoreless innings.
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