The New York Yankees turned Tuesday night’s game into a lesson on timing, resilience, and the chaos that baseball can deliver in just one inning. Twice they found themselves trailing the San Diego Padres, first by a modest 2-0 margin in the fourth and then 3-2 in the top of the seventh. But then came the bottom half of that highly productive inning, and with it, a tidal wave of runs that turned a close contest into a 12-3 rout. Baseball can feel like a chess match, but sometimes, it’s more like a lightning strike.
Early Trouble, Early Answers
Clarke Schmidt started for the Yankees and was tested early. A balk and a sacrifice fly gave the Padres a 2-0 edge, but the Yankees wasted no time responding. Aaron Judge did what Aaron Judge does—he launched a home run to put New York on the board. Then Jasson Dominguez, with an RBI single, evened things up. For several innings, the teams played a game of freeze tag, exchanging scoreless frames and waiting for someone to blink.
The Seventh Inning, Where the Magic Happens
That blink came from the Padres in the bottom of the seventh. Up 3-2 thanks to a Fernando Tatis Jr. double in the top half, San Diego must have felt some confidence. But the Yankees had a different idea—one that looked less like a rally and more like a demolition.
Austin Wells kicked off the scoring with a game-tying single, and Trent Grisham followed with a bases-loaded walk that nudged the Yankees ahead. Then came Ben Rice, slicing a two-run double down the first base line that felt like a warning shot. Cody Bellinger and Anthony Volpe added RBI singles, and suddenly it was 8-3. Wells, stepping in for the second time in the inning, didn’t just finish what he started—he finished the Padres. His grand slam turned the inning into a full-blown eruption. Ten runs. One inning. Game over.
AUSTIN WELLS GRAND SLAM pic.twitter.com/eLmzAazJUx
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 7, 2025
Schmidt Silences the Noise
Lost in the offensive explosion was another solid outing from Schmidt. The right-hander threw six innings of two-run ball, striking out four and walking just one. His ERA has now dipped to 4.79, a number trending steadily downward as he puts some early-season concerns behind him. For a guy who had fans biting their nails in March due to a shoulder issue, Schmidt has found some rhythm and is turning in dependable starts.
Small Moves, Big Impact
Before the fireworks began, the Yankees found an edge in the finer details. Tied 3-3 in the seventh with one out, Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe executed a double steal, a move straight from a manager’s playbook underlined in bold. That kind of aggressive baserunning isn’t just flash—it’s substance. The double-play threat disappeared, and two runners moved into scoring position. Even if the rally eventually turned into a landslide, that moment cracked the dam.
The Yankees didn’t just win—they out-thought and out-hustled their way to victory.