Things got ugly at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as fans began throwing trash at Cleveland Guardians players after the Bronx Bombers’ walk-off win.
The horrid incident came after Gleyber Torres entered the tied game in the bottom of the 9th inning as a pinch hitter with a runner on second base, and proceeded to hit a game-winning line drive to right field to win the game by a 5–4 margin.
This is disgusting. Yankees fans should be embarrassed. Wow.
Yankees walk it off then proceed to throw things at Guardians outfielders
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) April 23, 2022
What should have been a triumphant moment for the Pinstripes was overshadowed when fans watching from the outfield then tossed beer cans and other objects at the Guardians’ outfielders, who had been within range of the fans after chasing Torres’ ball to the warning track.
“There’s no place for throwing stuff on the field,” said Yanks manager Aaron Boone after the game.
Guardian outfielder Myles Straw then climbed atop the fence to confront the fans as the altercation boiled over, while several Yankee players stopped their celebration to run out and attempt to calm the situation.
Guardians outfielder Myles Straw climbed the wall to exchange words with a fan after a game-tying double
Then Yankees fans threw garbage on the field after New York’s walk-off hit. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton told them to stop pic.twitter.com/Hfij0oD7O5
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 23, 2022
The ugliness came after the Yankees secured their second-straight win over Cleveland, coming on the heels of a 4–1 victory on Friday night.
Righty Nestor Cortes Jr. got the start on Saturday, and tossed 6.1 innings, while giving up 2 runs on a homer to first baseman Josh Naylor, and striking out 8 batters. Chad Green entered the game in the 8th inning and gave up two more runs, off another 2-run shot from catcher Austin Hedges.
On offense, Isiah Kiner-Falefa recorded the first RBI for the team in the 5th inning, when he singled to score Aaron Hicks after he walked earlier in the inning — which also brought Joey Gallo to 3rd base. On the next at bat, Kyle Higashioka grounded into a double-play, but not before Gallo crossed the plate.
The Yanks struck again in the 7th, when Josh Donaldson hit a home run to center field off a cutter from Cal Quantrill.
Heading into the 9th inning down 4–3, the Yankees rallied — beginning with Kiner-Falefa’s second RBI, on a double to deep left that scored pinch runner Tim Locastro to tie the game. That’s when Torres became the hero of the day for the Bronx Bombers, hitting Emmanuel Clase’s slider to bring the game-winning run home.
After the game, Kiner-Falefa blasted the actions of those fans who tossed objects onto the field.
“That can’t happen,” he said. “I love the fans, love the atmosphere, but we win with class.”
Still, the memorable walk-off will surely be overshadowed by the distasteful showing from the fans.
The Yankees now move to a 9–6 record, which puts them second in the AL East. They will face off against the Guardians again on Sunday afternoon.
