Yasmani Grandal hit the first of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ five homers and they never trailed in a 9-4 win over the New York Yankees, who saw Aaron Judge strike out five times Saturday.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered in the fifth and laced an RBI double in the eighth for the American League East-winning Yankees (93-68), who missed a chance to clinch the top seed in the AL playoffs.
New York entered Saturday a game ahead of the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians but has the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series 4-2.
Grandal went deep in the second inning off Luis Gil (15-7), who gave up a solo homer to Nick Gonzales in the fourth and two-run shots to Billy Cook and Jared Triolo in the fifth and sixth, respectively.
Nick Yorke added a two-run homer in the ninth for the Pirates (76-85), who clinched their first series win since a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins from Sept. 9-11. Grandal had three hits, including an RBI single immediately before Yorke’s homer.
Mike Burrows (1-0) earned the win in his major league debut by allowing two runs (one earned) in 3 1/3 innings of relief. Burrows followed Paul Skenes, who concluded his rookie season by striking out three in two perfect innings.
Skenes, a top contender for the National League Rookie of the Year award, finished 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings. The ERA is the lowest by a rookie pitcher who made at least 20 starts since Reb Russell posted a 1.90 ERA for the Chicago White Sox in 1913.
Giancarlo Stanton hit into a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the sixth and Juan Soto had an RBI single in the seventh for the Yankees, who loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before Aroldis Chapman earned his 14th save by striking out Aaron Judge and retiring Austin Wells on a liner to left.
Judge, who homered in each of his previous five games, had his third career five-strikeout game and his first since May 5, 2021.
Gil, who is contending for the AL Rookie of the Year, allowed six runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings. He finished with a 3.50 ERA.
–Field Level Media
