NEW YORK – Harrison Bader and Oswald Peraza were the latest Yankees to exit a game, with both players injured in Wednesday night’s ninth inning.
Bader was being checked for head and neck issues, though he was “in good spirits,” according to manager Aaron Boone, while Peraza rolled his right ankle as a pinch-runner on a successful ninth inning stolen base attempt.
Jose Trevino was the Yankees’ last available position player, and his 10th-inning pinch-hit single provided the winning margin for a club now seeking big contributions from all able-bodied players in pinstripes.
“I like the way we won,” Isiah Kiner-Falefa said of the Yankees’ 4-3 victory, their second straight comeback win against the Cleveland Guardians at the Stadium. “With everybody down now, that’s the way we have to do it.”
That meant fifth inning solo homers by Willie Calhoun and Jake Bauers, off starter Shane Bieber, and moving the tying and winning runs into scoring position (9th inning groundout by DJ LeMahieu, 10th inning sac bunt by IKF).
Calhoun delivered a game-tying RBI single in the ninth off closer Emmanuel Clase before Trevino won it in the 10th on a soft single to center, starting a walk-off celebration that Trevino called innings earlier.
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“He called his shot,” said starter Clarke Schmidt, relaying how Trevino told him in the sixth inning that he’d be “trying to hit a walk-off” when summoned to pinch-hit.
That conversation happened in the trainer’s room, where Bader and Peraza remained after the game.
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It was a 2-2 game in the ninth when IKF, making his first big-league start as a left fielder, lost Myles Straw‘s sinking liner in the lights for a two-out double.
At this point, the turf was slick at rainy Yankee Stadium when Cleveland pinch-hitter Oscar Gonzalez followed wiht a shallow fly ball into the Bermuda Triangle in left-center field.
IKF, shortstop Anthony Volpe and Bader all converged.
Both IKF and Bader charged hard for the ball, with IKF sliding along the wet turf and banging into Bader, who made a headlong diving attempt.
“A tough one. Just two guys who wanted to make a play,” said IKF, whose side caught Bader in the head/neck area as the ball dropped in, scoring Cleveland’s go-ahead run with two out.
Boone wasn’t certain if Bader was directly struck in the head, but Bader was going through concussion protocol among the tests being administered.
Bader stayed on the ground for a few minutes before he exited the field under his own power.
“I think Harrison’s going to be fine,’’ said Boone. “He was in really good spirits and laughing in the training room.’’
Bader had just been activated off the Yankees’ lengthy injury list Tuesday night, missing the club’s first 30 games due to strained left oblique suffered in spring training.
In the bottom of the ninth, Peraza was replaced by Aaron Hicks, who scored the tying run on Calhoun’s single.
Peraza tested the ankle by sprinting a few feet and realized he could not remain in the game. He was sent for X-rays, according to Boone, who was not immediately sure if Peraza would join the dozen Yankees currently on the IL.
That includes Aaron Judge (hip), due to return next week, and Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring), who could be lost for another four weeks.
“With the big guys down, we’ve got to find a way to manufacture runs,” said IKF, though Calhoun managed to go deep for a second straight game.
Bauers, in his first appearance since banging his knee against the wall to make a spectacular catch Saturday at Texas, continued a power run that elevated him from Triple-A.
“Felt like the energy was there in the dugout, even though we were down the last two nights,” said Calhoun, as the Yankees prepared for their next series – a three-game weekend set at Tampa Bay.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Harrison Bader exits Yankees win over Guardians with injury
