In a game that had more twists than a pretzel at Yankee Stadium, it was the subtlety of small ball that finally unraveled the tension. Oswaldo Cabrera laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the tenth, inching the ghost runner over to third with surgical precision. A few pitches later, J.C. Escarra lofted a fly ball deep enough to bring him home, sealing a 4-3 walk-off win for the New York Yankees over the San Diego Padres.
JC ESCARRA SENDS EM HOME HAPPY pic.twitter.com/YaRVU5QxeS
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 8, 2025
This one had everything—drama, long balls, tactical mastery, and a heavy dose of grit. The Yankees, however, came out on top, and won a hard-fought series.
The Comeback Kids
Early on, it looked like Dylan Cease might write his name in the no-hit club. The Padres starter cruised through six frames, and then—boom—Cody Bellinger happened. The lefty slugger crushed his fifth home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh, breaking up the no-no and tying the game at one (Jackson Merrill had opened the score with a solo homer in the fourth.) It was the spark the Yankees needed.
The Padres, not to be outdone, answered in the top of the eighth with two more runs to take a 3-1 lead. However, Trent Grisham had a word about that.
Grisham, coming off the bench like a plot twist no one saw coming, turned around and went yard in the bottom half. His two-run shot, with Cabrera aboard, tied things right back up.
One of the better bat flips you’ll see pic.twitter.com/LVqUZTasxe
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 8, 2025
Bending But Not Breaking: Devin Williams Returns
With the Yankees’ bullpen being overworked, fans held their breath when Devin Williams took the mound in extras, especially given his bloated 9.24 ERA. It felt like tossing gasoline on a smoldering fire.
But Williams pulled a Houdini act. He started strong, striking out Fernando Tatis Jr., but then things got shaky. A stolen base, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. Yet somehow, he kept the house from burning down. Williams struck out both Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts, the latter falling victim to a devastating changeup that might’ve buckled knees across the boroughs.
Max Fried Quietly Dominant Again
Amid all the late-inning chaos, Max Fried put in another shift of quiet excellence. He was clinical across seven innings, giving up just one run on five hits, walking no one, and fanning eight. His ERA now sits at a microscopic 1.05, and his Cy Young case grows more convincing with each outing.
If Fried were a musician, he’d be jazz—smooth, controlled, always improvising but never out of tune.
Momentum Rising
With this gritty win, the Yankees improve to 21-16 and hold a 2.5-game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.