NEW YORK — It was around the sixth inning on Wednesday, and Jose Trevino was watching his teammates from the comfort of the coaches’ room, deep in the catacombs of Yankee Stadium. Struck by the premonition that his services would be needed later in the evening, the catcher remarked to starter Clarke Schmidt, “I’m going to get caught up in this one.”
Schmidt nodded, having seen this act before. Author of a pair of memorable end-of-game celebrations last season, Trevino will soon add another to his tally, connecting for a hit single against Trevor Stephan as the Yankees rallied for a 4-3 victory and 10 innings against the Guardians. at Yankee Stadium.
“It’s good; it’s the real Yankees fans here, sticking around through it all,” Trevino said, waving his arms wildly in front of the first base dugout.
Calhoun homered in the fifth inning and delivered a hit in the ninth, while Bauers cleared the wall for his first long pinstripe flyout, also a fifth-inning shot off Guardians starter Shane Bieber. Calhoun’s punch to the right field seats was his second in as many nights, continuing a hot streak that has seen him hit safely in six of his last seven starts.
“Any time you can come in and get some big hits to help the team win, that’s a good boost for the club,” Calhoun said. “I felt like the energy was there the last few nights. Even though we were down early, the energy in the dugout was upbeat. It just had a different vibe. We knew we’d be back, doing things together. races and make a ball game out of it.
After reworking his swing in the offseason, Bauers hit nine home runs in 69 at-bats at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, prompting his promotion to help the Yanks’ injury-ravaged roster.
Bauers soon joined their ranks, crashing into a wall in his first round of action Saturday in Texas. By Wednesday, his bruised right knee had improved enough that he could homer in his second at-bat of the night against Bieber, a Cleveland teammate in 2019 and 21.
“Look, he’s got a Cy Young (Award) for a reason,” Bauers said. “He’s a great pitcher, a tough batter. I have a few attacks on him, so I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what he was going to try to do. I really felt like I was ready.
Cleveland briefly took the lead in the ninth as closer Clay Holmes faltered for the second time in the series, after relieving Ron Marinaccio with two outs and no one. Marinaccio retired all five batters faced, but since he also pitched on Tuesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t want to push him any further.
“Look, I get it with Clay, there’s been a few outings,” Boone said. “Obviously we need to get him to the Clay we know, but he’s a lot closer to that than Noise.”
Myles Straw doubled up to greet Holmes before Oscar Gonzalez made a shallow pop for a “Bermuda Triangle” hit that eluded Bader in center field. Bader left the game after appearing to take a knee to the head of left fielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Boone said Bader – who just returned from the injured list on Tuesday – would undergo tests but appeared to be in “very good spirits”.
“It was just a perfectly placed all-around game,” Kiner-Falefa said. “Nobody called it off. We both went full sprint. We both really wanted the ball, and it was a situation where two guys really wanted to make a play to save the game. It was tough , but I’d rather put in that kind of effort than jog and give up.
Calhoun came to the rescue in the half of the ninth at home. Facing Emmanuel Clase, Anthony Rizzo picked and Peraza ran to steal second base, although the latter was hobbled on the bases after wrapping his right ankle and would undergo X-rays.
Calhoun then hit a left base hit, tagging in new pinch runner Aaron Hicks from second base to continue a nice push that he said felt like “a dream.”
“I’ve always believed in my ability to hit the ball and I’ve always been able to be a threat in the batting box,” Calhoun said. “For the past few years, I’ve been stoned and I wasn’t able to be fully capable of it. This spring, I just tried to make sure I stayed healthy to go out there and perform at my best.