Reynolds homers twice as Pirates top Yankees
The loss prevented New York from wrapping up the best record in the AL.
NEW YORK (AP) — Bryan Reynolds homered twice, including a tiebreaking two-run drive in the eighth inning that lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Yankees 4-2 on Friday night and delayed New York from clinching homefield advantage throughout the American League playoffs.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s two-run single put the Yankees ahead in the fifth inning but Nick Gonzales and Bryan Reynolds hit consecutive homers off Carlos Rodón in the the sixth.
“I said, `You ever get two at Yankee Stadium?’ And he said, `no.’ I said, `Well, I’ve seen people get two at Yankee Stadium,’” Pirates manager Derek Shelton recalled telling Reynolds.
After batting right-handed against Rodón, Reynolds homered to center hitting left-handed against Tommy Kahnle (0-2).
“He walked back and said, `Yeah, so have I now,’” Shelton remembered.
Reynolds looked at Shelton as he circled the bases.
“So, yeah, spoken into existence,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds had his second multihomer game this season and the seventh of his big league career — his third from both sides. He leads the Pirates with 24 homers and 88 RBIs, reaching 24 homers for the fourth straight season.
Joey Wentz, Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski (5-5), Dennis Santana and former Yankee Aroldis Chapman (13th save in 18 chances) combined to retire the last 14 Yankees in order.
New York opens the Division Series at home Oct. 5 and would be assured homefield advantage in the League Championship Series by winning one of its last two games or by Cleveland losing one of its last two.
Rodón allowed two runs, four hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings. He finished 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA, a rebound from 3-8 with a career-worst 6.85 ERA in an injury-marred 2023 after signing a $162 million, six-year contract. Rodón has allowed a career-high 31 homers, 23 of them solo.
“The goal was to go out there and make every start this year and did that,” Rodón said.
A night after clinching the AL East, the Yankees rested Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and Austin Wells. Judge got his third game off this season after June 10 against Kansas City and June 19 against Baltimore. He has homered in five straight games, raising his major league-leading total to 58.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone thought about using Judge and Stanton as pinch hitters in the ninth inning.
“Unless we put together a rally with some traffic I wasn’t I really valued having those guys down today,” Boone said. “But it was tempting, yes.”
New York plans to take Monday off, have combinations of workouts and simulated games the following three days and a mandatory workout on Friday ahead of the Division Series opener.
Pittsburgh rookie Jared Jones gave up two runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings, reaching 100 mph on four pitches. The 23-year-old rookie right-hander made five starts after missing eight weeks with a strained lat muscle and finished 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings.
