DJ LeMahieu has won the Yankees many a game over the last four years with his stellar fielding and consistency at the plate. However, on his 34th birthday, LeMahieu gave the Yanks a boost with his legs en route to a 7-6 win in 10 innings over the Reds Wednesday night.
Starting the bottom of the 10th as the automatic runner on second, LeMahieu was primed to be the winning run with the heart of the order coming up. Following an Aaron Judge strikeout and an intentional walk of Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton stepped into the box looking to send an exuberant Yankees crowd home happy — but he never got the chance.
After Stanton fell behind in the count 0-2, Reds reliever Alexis Díaz bounced a slider allowing LeMahieu to get to third base. On the very next pitch, with Yankee Stadium still buzzing with anticipation, Díaz spiked another slider. LeMahieu immediately took off down the line, with fans roaring as he slid into home plate with the winning run before being mobbed by his teammates. Even a usually reserved LeMahieu couldn’t hold back a smile as he was showered with high fives.
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