NEW YORK (AP) - Matt Holliday ended a thrilling duel of home run derby in the Bronx with one final thump.
Holliday hit the eighth homer of the game, a three-run shot in the 10th inning as the New York Yankees completed a stunning rally from an eight-run deficit, outslugging the Baltimore Orioles 14-11 Friday night.
“It’s an amazing feeling. We’re down 9-1, and then we were down 11-4,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “They never quit. We have the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark and that’s what we did.”
Starlin Castro slipped to a knee when he tied it with a two-run drive that capped a three-run burst in the ninth off Brad Brach. Then in the 10th, Holliday hit the Yankees’ fifth homer of the evening with one out off Jayson Aquino (1-1) and was mobbed at the plate.
“I thought it had a good chance. I was hesitant to get too excited, because Adam Jones is out there, and if it’s just clearing the fence, he’s got a chance to catch a lot of those,” Holliday said.
Two innings earlier, Jones climbed the center-field wall to take away a possible home run from Greg Bird. This time, the Gold Glover never had an opportunity.
Down 9-1 in the sixth, the Yankees pulled off their biggest comeback since overcoming a 9-0 gap to beat Boston 15-9 in 2012.
On the first true spring-like day in New York, the ball was flying. Featured were all kinds of monster mashes - cleanup men Jacoby Ellsbury and Mark Trumbo connected for grand slams, and Yankees fan favorite Aaron Judge homered twice, including a drive tracked at 119.4 mph off the bat, the hardest-hit ball since Statcast began counting in 2015.
Manny Machado launched a 470-foot homer, the longest in the majors this year, and Welington Castillo also homered for Baltimore.
“Got to just flush it,” Orioles starter Kevin Gausman said. “We’ve just got to forget about it quick.”
Though the Yankees surged against the Baltimore bullpen, Gausman took the blame. He gave up three runs in the sixth that made it 9-4.
“I kind of let them get off the hook,” Gausman said.
Aroldis Chapman (1-0) pitched the 10th. The Yankees won their third straight, improved to 9-1 at home and tied Baltimore at 14-7 for the best record in the AL.
Ellsbury hit his 100th career home run and first slam, tagging Vidal Nuno and drawing New York to 11-8 in the seventh.
Brach had started the season with 12 scoreless innings before the Yankees got him. A leadoff walk and a double by Holliday set up Ellsbury’s grounder for his fifth RBI, and Castro followed with a shot far into the left-field seats.
Machado, who began the day batting just .205 with three home runs, also hit a two-run double and singled against CC Sabathia.
Trumbo was stuck in a worse rut, an 0-for-25 slide dropping him to .185. After grounding a soft single, he hit his fourth career slam, measured at 459 feet by Statcast and putting the Orioles up by eight runs in the sixth.
Trumbo led the majors with 47 home runs last year. This season, his only previous homer had been a game-ending shot on opening day.
Judge lined a shot into the Baltimore bullpen in the fifth. In the sixth, he hit his AL-high tying ninth homer, a two-run homer that gave him his first career multihomer game.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter shook his head at what he’d seen, and offered the only piece of advice he could muster.
“Try to keep a grip on reality,” he said.
HAPPY HOLLIDAY
Holliday’s third hit of the game marked his first game-ending homer since 2009 with St. Louis against the Cubs. This was his 10th walk-off hit overall.
NOT ENOUGH
Machado and Trumbo each got three hits, yet Baltimore endured its first loss when scoring at least 11 runs since 2006, when the White Sox beat them 13-11.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: LF Joey Rickard was activated from the 10-day disabled list after missing time with a sprained finger. He got his first two hits of the season, two-out singles on a tapper and a bunt that led to runs. … RHP Chris Tillman (shoulder bursitis) joined the team at Yankee Stadium. He hasn’t pitched this season, and Showalter said the club would see how Tillman is feeling after a workout.
Yankees: SS Didi Gregorius came off the disabled list after being sidelined by a strained right shoulder, an injury that occurred while playing for the Netherlands in last month’s World Baseball Classic. The public address announcer greeted him with “Welcome Back!” when presenting the starting lineups. Gregorius doubled, singled and a couple of nice plays in the field. … Chapman was nicked in the pitching hand by Trumbo’s single in the 10th. The Yankees said he seemed fine.
UP NEXT
Orioles: Baltimore is 4-0 in games started by RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (1-0, 5.95) despite three shaky outings, including one against the Yankees.
Yankees: RHP Michael Pineda (2-1, 3.86) has allowed home runs in a career-high six straight starts dating to last season.
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