Max Muncy punishes Yankees’ strategic mistake in Dodgers’ comeback win

NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole talked Aaron Boone into letting him face one batter in the seventh inning Friday night.

Max Muncy said thank you very much.

In the Dodgers’ 2-1 win over the Yankees, Muncy delivered the most important swing of the night after Boone made the most consequential decision of the night, with the Yankees manager leaving Cole in only to watch Muncy take him deep for a go-ahead two-run home run that landed in the second deck.

Before that pivotal at-bat, Cole’s leadoff walk to Mookie Betts had dragged Boone out of the dugout.

Muncy, the left-handed slugger, was due up next. Brent Headrick, a Yankees lefty with a 1.58 ERA this year, was warming in the bullpen.

However, after a brief conversation on the mound, Cole convinced Boone to keep him in the game. Having already pitched six scoreless innings to that point, the former Cy Young winner then even got Muncy in an 0-2 hole. 

But once Muncy worked the count even, Cole threw a slider that hung over the middle of the plate.

Muncy didn’t miss it, launching his 18th home run of the year — and first since June 29 — on a no-doubt trajectory of 416 feet.

Just like that, the Dodgers had erased a 1-0 deficit, backing up an impressive 5 ⅔-inning, one-unearned-run start from Roki Sasaki.

And then in the eighth, they denied the Yankees their best chance to rally, throwing out a runner at the plate on an impressive relay play between Andy Pages, Betts and Dalton Rushing.

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What it means

After getting swept going into the All-Star break, the Dodgers kicked off the second half with a marquee win in this 2024 World Series rematch.

They continue to hold the best record in the majors (62-36) and improved to 31-23 against opponents with winning records.

Who’s hot

Sasaki embraced the Yankee Stadium spotlight, not only by turning in a strong start but doing so with an extremely encouraging uptick in stuff.

In the first, the right-hander punctuated a 1-2-3 inning with a tantalizing strikeout of Paul Goldschmidt, getting ahead with fastballs of 101.8 and 101.7 mph (the hardest of his MLB career) before putting him away with a slider in the dirt.

From there, Sasaki remained on the attack, throwing 21 fastballs at 100+ mph (he only had 14 previously as a starter in his MLB career) and averaging over 100 with the pitch for his first time in an MLB start.

Sasaki’s only blemish came in the fourth, when he got little help from his defense. Pages dropped the ball on the transfer after fielding a two-out Jasson Domínguez double, allowing Domínguez to take third. Then Rushing whiffed on a forkball behind the plate, resulting in a passed ball that scored a run.

Outside of that, Sasaki was nearly flawless. He allowed only five hits. He walked only one batter. He struck out five while finding the zone on 58 of 94 pitches. 

His ERA might still be 4.98. But never before had he looked so dominant as an MLB starter.

Who’s not

This was going to be the Dodgers’ defense, especially after the blunders from Pages and Rushing in the fourth led to Sasaki’s lone run.

But in the eighth, the previously scuffling unit redeemed itself, preserving the lead with one of its best plays of the season.

Following a one-out walk to Trent Grisham, reliever Alex Vesia gave up a double to Ben Rice that banged off the top of the wall in right-center. Immediately, Grisham got the wave home from his third base coach. But behind him, the Dodgers whipped the ball back in just quickly enough to mow him down at the plate.

The relay started with a strong, albeit slightly off-target, throw from Pages, forcing Betts to adjust from his cutoff position. Betts then also fired off-line to Rushing, forcing him to reach across his body to secure the ball, before sprawling back across the plate to apply the tag.

Nonetheless, Rushing got there a split-second before Grisham slid across the dish, with the call being confirmed after the Yankees challenged.

Up next

The Dodgers and Yankees continue this series Saturday, when Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.81 ERA) will face Yankees left-hander Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.15 ERA).