Yankees Beat Cardinals In Extras

May 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Dellin Betances throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees pulled through in the first of three games at Busch Stadium, taking down the defending National League champion St. Louis Cardinals in 12 innings.

The Bombers began the scoring in the top of the first inning when Jacoby Ellsbury singled off of Cardinals starter Michael Wacha to score Brett Gardner and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead, but it wouldn’t last long. In the bottom of the inning, second baseman Kolten Wong doubled home Matt Carpenter to tie the game at one.

The Yankees would retake the lead in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI single by Kelly Johnson and a sacrifice-fly by Gardner. This gave them a 3-1.

Yankees’ starter Chase Whitley had settle down, allowing only the one run through five innings. In the sixth however, he loaded the bases before getting an out and was pulled from the game. Two of those runners would come around to score and tie the game.

The next two innings were all about Dellin Betances as he allowed no runs, no hits, no walks, and struck out two batters. He was just phenomenal.

In the 11th inning, Gardner probably saved Alfredo Aceves from picking up the loss by making a leaping catch at the left field wall on a deep drive by Yadier Molina. If the ball had hit off the wall, Matt Holliday likely would’ve scored from first base.

In the 12th, the Yankees took the lead for good when Brian Roberts singled to left field and drove in Ellsbury. They’d add two more that inning to take a 6-3 lead.

Things got a little bit interesting in the bottom half of the twelfth, when Derek Jeter committed a throwing error on Jhonny Peralta‘s ground ball. Jon Jay would double him home to cut the Yankees’ lead to 6-4, but David Robertson would get the next two batters out to nail down his eleventh save.