ANAHEIM -- In the top of the 10th inning on Wednesday night, booming chants of "Let's go Yankees" echoed through Angel Stadium, making Anaheim sound like the Bronx West as New York's lineup erupted for a two-out rally.
When pinch-hitter Austin Wells stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, the Yankees were staring at another frustrating extra-inning jam. Instead, Wells grounded a two-run single to right field off Angels reliever Luke Murphy, unlocking a five-run 10th-inning surge that propelled New York to a 6-3 victory over theAngels.
The clutch single triggered a chain reaction of four consecutive two-out RBI hits. Cody Bellinger followed with a sharp line drive to center to score Jazz Chisholm Jr. Trent Grisham lined a single to left to bring home Wells. And Ben Rice capped the rally with a liner to right to score Bellinger.
For a Yankees club locked in a tight American League East pennant race in which they currently trail the Rays by 3 1/2 games, finding late-game execution has been critical down the stretch. New York entered Wednesday night having scored 11 runs in extra innings across 12 extra-inning games this season. The 10th-inning outburst rewarded a dominant performance on the mound from starter Cam Schlittler, who allowed just one run over eight strong innings before turning the game over to the bullpen.
After David Bednar struck out three batters in a scoreless ninth to force extras, manager Aaron Boone wasn't around to see the finish. Boone was ejected in the bottom of the 10th by first-base umpire Junior Valentine -- his fifth ejection of the season and the 51st of his managerial career.
Right-hander Michael Fulmer took the mound for the final frame and surrendered a two-run home run to Moisés Ballesteros, cutting the lead to 6-3. Fulmer quickly settled down, though, retiring Christian Moore on a comeback grounder and striking out Jose Siri swinging to close out the inning and secure the series victory.