Grisham's 3-run homer, Judge and Cabrera solo drives lift Yankees over Dodgers 6-4 to prevent sweep
Trent Grisham hit a go-ahead, three-run homer, Aaron Judge and Oswaldo Cabrera also went deep and the New York Yankees rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night to prevent a three-game sweep in a series viewed as a possible World Series preview.
Teoscar Hernández's sixth-inning homer, his third of the series, had given the Dodgers a 3-2 lead against Luis Gil, one inning after the rookie allowed Mookie Betts' tying two-run double with two outs.
Starting because Juan Soto missed his third straight game due to forearm soreness, Grisham drove a fastball from Tyler Glasnow (6-5) about a dozen rows into the right-field seats for a 5-3 lead in the bottom half. Fans in the sellout crowd of 48,023 had chanted "We Want Soto!" when Grisham came to the plate after infield hits by Alex Verdugo and Judge that bounced off fielders' gloves.
Acquired by the Yankees in the December trade that brought Soto from San Diego, Grisham began the night hitting .083 with two home runs. Soto could return Monday night against Kansas City.
Judge hit his major league-leading 24th home run in the eighth against Yohan Ramírez. He also had an RBI double on a three-hit night and raised his batting average to .305, his first time over .300 this season. Judge was hitting .197 through May 2 and is batting .419 since with 18 homers and 41 RBIs.
Cabrera, like Grisham a backup on a star-laden roster, had put the Yankees ahead with a home run off the right-field foul pole in a two-run third.
Los Angeles' first two batters reached in the seventh against former Dodgers reliever Caleb Ferguson (1-3). Luke Weaver came on, and catcher Jose Trevino threw out Andy Pages at third on Kiké Hernández's bunt. Betts then grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Shohei Ohtani doubled leading off the eighth and scored on Will Smith's sacrifice fly.
Clay Holmes pitched the ninth for his 19th save in 22 chances, allowing a pair of two-out singles before striking out Betts on a slider.
Teoscar Hernández homered twice in Saturday's 11-3 win, doubled in the second for the Dodgers' first hit and drove a changeup to the back of the Dodgers' bullpen in left-center. He was 6 for 10 with nine RBIs in the series and has 47 RBIs in 79 games against the Yankees.
Glasnow allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings with 12 strikeouts, dropping to 0-4 in his last six starts.
Gil had won his previous seven starts to boost his record to 8-1. He gave up three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings, his ERA rising from 1.82 to 2.04.
Cabrera led off the third with his fifth home run of the season and first since May 1, giving the Yankees their first lead of the series. Cabrera made just his second start in June, inserted into the lineup as manager Aaron Boone gave slumping Anthony Rizzo a night off and moved DJ LeMahieu from third base to first.
Judge's RBI double popped out of Pages' glove as the rookie jumped just in front of the center-field wall.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: RHP Bobby Miller (right shoulder inflammation) could make a fourth minor league rehab start Thursday, manager Dave Roberts said. ... 3B Max Muncy (strained right oblique that has sidelined him since May 15) took swings without a ball on Friday but not over the weekend. ... RHP Dustin May (Tommy John surgery) has topped 90 mph during bullpen sessions in Arizona. ... RHP Brudsar Graterol (right shoulder inflammation) threw a bullpen in Arizona late last week. ... INF Miguel Rojas has been bothered by leg soreness for two weeks.
Yankees: Soto (left forearm inflammation) could return to the starting lineup Monday. ... RHP Gerrit Cole (right elbow nerve) allowed one run and two hits over 4 2/3 innings in his second rehab start for Double-A Somerset, throwing 44 of 57 pitches for strikes.
UP NEXT
Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (8-2, 3.08 ERA) has won a career-best six straight starts going into Monday night's series opener at Kansas City, which starts RHP Seth Lugo (9-1, 2.13).
Dodgers: LHP James Paxton (5-1, 4.19 ERA) starts Tuesday at home against Texas.