NEW YORK — Anthony Volpe anchored his left foot on third base like a track star in the blocks, watching the flight of Aaron Judge‘s medium-depth fly to center field. The Yankees were challenging Julio Rodríguez‘s arm, daring him to make a perfect throw with the game on the line.
That’s exactly what happened. And still, the Yankees won.
Volpe dove home safely, his right hand slapping the plate just ahead of Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh’s tag. Judge’s sacrifice fly sealed a 6-5, 10-inning victory over the Mariners on Thursday evening at Yankee Stadium, capping a furious comeback after the Yanks were held hitless into the eighth inning.
“I knew who was at third, so my whole thought going into it was get the ball in the air and let [Volpe] take care of the rest,” Judge said. “What a great slide — there’s nobody else I’d want out there in a situation like that besides Volpe.”
The Yankees spilled from the dugout to celebrate, briefly paused by an umpire review that confirmed what they already knew. Soon, Frank Sinatra sang again, marking New York’s third walk-off win of the season and fourth consecutive victory.
“That was sick,” Austin Wells said of Volpe’s slide. “He totally went around him; got his hand in there. That was a great slide. I need to watch it, but that was sick.”
Manager Aaron Boone added: “I had the best seat in the house. I saw the throw was on target, and I’m like, ‘Oh, no!’ But I saw his hand in there.”
How unlikely was the comeback? According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Yankees became just the second team in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to win a game after going hitless and trailing by at least five runs through seven innings.
This one echoed a June 24, 1977, showdown between the Expos and Pirates at old Three Rivers Stadium, won 6-5 by Pittsburgh. That night, it had been Montreal’s Wayne Twitchell holding the home team down; in the Bronx on Wednesday, it was Seattle’s Bryan Woo.
Boone said “it felt like we were getting dominated” by the All-Star Woo, and it sounded like it, too. The home crowd had little to cheer about early. They’d make up for it later.
“Baseball is funny like that,” Boone said. “The guys didn’t give up. Just keep grinding at-bats.”
Woo walked his first two batters of the night, then didn’t allow another baserunner until Jazz Chisholm Jr. grounded a clean single to right field opening the New York eighth.
Seattle led by five at that point, powered by two early runs off a gritty Marcus Stroman, then Jorge Polanco’s three-run homer off reliever Clayton Beeter in the seventh. Chisholm’s hit wasn’t just a history-spoiling footnote; it proved to be the first building block in the rally.
“Guys were having good at-bats all night; hitting the ball right at guys, just missing balls,” Judge said. “Woo is one of the best pitchers in the game for a reason. … He’s been giving us fits for quite a few years, so we were happy to steal that win.”
Wells lifted a sac fly to chase in Chisholm for the Yanks’ first run, and with one on and two out, Boone sent up Giancarlo Stanton as a pinch-hitter. Over his career, Stanton hasn’t had much success in that role — just 5-for-48 (.104) with no homers coming into his at-bat against Matt Brash.
But Boone believes Stanton is better suited for it now, having unlocked new ways to prepare as he finds himself in the lineup less frequently. Stanton made the opportunity count, unloading on a 97.6 mph sinker to send a Statcast-projected 415-foot rocket into the right-field bullpen.
“No lead is safe,” Stanton said. “I had to make sure I was ready to go, and it happens quick. Never put anything past this lineup.”
There was still a two-run hill to climb, and the Yanks would have to do it against All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz, who leaned on a nasty assortment of sliders and four-seamers.
Yet Muñoz was tipping his slider. The Yanks spotted it, and their runners weren’t subtle about signaling — especially Trent Grisham, who flapped his arms from second base.
“Obviously, they weren’t discreet. But it is part of the game,” Raleigh said. “It’s our job to know that going into a series. That made it really hard at the end.”
With the bases loaded, Muñoz was one strike away from nailing down the save. Then, Wells clobbered a 98 mph heater, lacing a two-run liner to right field, sparking a deck-shaking Bronx frenzy that rewarded those who stuck around.
“It just shows the versatility that we have,” Wells said. “We’ve shown that we can go big early in the games, and we can come back late. It’s a total team effort to be in that situation at the end — the pitchers making it close and the at-bats not giving in. That was really cool.”
