Jose Caballero walks-off Angels as Yankees steal win in wild comeback

For most of Wednesday, it looked like it was going to be the same old song and dance for the Yankees.

However, they did indeed have a rally in their bones.

With the Yankees down a run in the bottom of the ninth, Jose Caballero lined a two-RBI walkoff single into left-center field off of Jordan Romano to give the Bombers a comeback 5-4 win. It appeared bleak entering the ninth as the Yankees didn’t even sniff a run after the second inning.

However, a misplayed pop-up started the rally. Jazz Chisholm Jr. lofted a weak pop-up to shortstop with one out in the inning. Zach Neto and Oswald Peraza looked at each other as the ball fell onto the dirt for a single in the Books. Austin Wells walked the very next at bat before Caballero put the finishing touches on the comeback.

As for the rest of the Yankees offense, they did their damage early. Aaron Judge mashed his seventh homer of the season in the top of the first to give his club an early 1-0. The next inning, Trent Grisham lined an opposite-field two-RBI single to extend their lead to 3-0.

While the Los Angeles Angels may be behind in this four-game set, they may be preparing to leave the Bronx with the Yankees’ nickname.

The Anaheim Bombers – at least, that’s which team the title has belonged to this week — continued their homer-happy parade against Luis Gil, who surrendered three bombs in his five innings of work, allowing four earned runs on five hits. The biggest blow came off the bat of Mike Trout as a two-run shot in the fifth to give the Halos a 4-3 lead. The three-time MVP continued his rampage in the Bronx as he mashed four homers himself over the first three games of this series.

Logan O’Hoppe (fifth inning solo shot) and Adam Frazier (third inning solo shot) accounted for the other two homers. The Yankees saw some offense only in the early parts of the evening.

Gil has yet to show his 2024 form — when he was the AL Rookie of the Year. In the long-term, the Yankees should be grateful they have tremendous starting pitching depth with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon’s returns to come. However, in the immediate term, Gil’s struggles may be an issue for a few more turns throughout the rotation.

The Bombers’ bullpen was stellar as they gave their lineup every opportunity to jump back in front. Tim Hil, Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick and David Bednar all tossed scoreless innings without breaking a sweat ultimately leading to their stunning comeback win.

Max Fried will take the ball during Thursday afternoon’s matchup to try to come out of the series with a series victory. The Angels did not yet name a starter as of Wednesday night.