The New York Yankees scored seven runs in the bottom of the first against Los Angeles Angels starter Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday night. And five hours later (after a rain delay), they allowed seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to blow the game.
The Angels beat the Yankees 11-8 after a seven-run ninth that featured a game-tying Jared Walsh grand slam off New York closer Aroldis Chapman.
The @Angels are the first team in the modern era to allow 7+ runs in the 1st inning and then score 7+ runs in the 9th inning to win the game.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 1, 2021
With the Yankees leading 8-4 in the ninth, Chapman walked three batters and got one out, before Walsh — who’s having a fantastic season — cranked a hanging slider from Chapman for the game-tying grand slam.
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing Jared Walsh can't do pic.twitter.com/h8oM51T1rt— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) July 1, 2021
Aroldis Chapman has given up 12 runs (11 earned) in his last 5.2 innings pitched (since June 10).
That's a 19.04 ERA in his last eight outings.
— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) July 1, 2021
Lucas Luetge replaced Chapman after that blast, and didn’t do much better, going 2/3 of an inning with three earned runs allowed. With a 2-2 count and two outs, Luis Rengifo gave the Angels the lead with a two-run single.
Don't call it a comeback‼️#WeBelieve I @Angels pic.twitter.com/n6n9B5Ozoy
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) July 1, 2021
Here’s a look at the game’s win probability chart, via FanGraphs (the Yankees had a 98.8% win expectancy after Brett Gardner homered in the bottom of the eighth):
An incredible comeback for the Angels, and a brutal meltdown for the Yankees.
New York — viewed as the AL team to beat entering the season — is now a disappointing 41-39 with a -3 run differential. They’re in fourth place in the AL East, 8.5 games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox.
