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Yankees: DJ LeMahieu and Gary Sanchez heroically beat Red Sox in 12-inning marathon

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Yanks Go Yard

DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees runs to first after hitting a double during the eighth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 03, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

DJ LeMahieu finally struck the game-winning hit for the Yankees, who held off the Red Sox 6-5 and worked HARD to do so.

Red Sox-Yankees in September? Sure, that’ll be a five-hour game. Even in 2020.

Though Rob Manfred tried his hardest to legislate long contests out of the shortened season, the Yanks chipped away and battled back down to the very final out of the ninth inning, sending Boston to extras … which lasted … forever.

Neither team scored in the 10th, which is difficult to do, thanks to Manfred’s free runner on second base.

Each team scored in the 11th, though the Yankees wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam with just one out, outright daring JD Martinez (formerly known for Just Dingers, now known for Just Depression) to beat them — he couldn’t.

In the 12th? Only one squad scored. The one with the Machine, as DJ LeMahieu cleaned up some two-out nonsense and gave the Yankees one last advantage they wouldn’t squander.

Jonathan Loaisiga stranded a runner on third in the 12th (!) too, and that was that. All told, an error-packed game we would’ve spent a long time shrugging off … if we hadn’t won it miraculously. That kind of night.

LeMahieu extended his hitting streak to 11 games with that just-inside-the-line laser, but we wouldn’t have had the chance to witness a classic barn-burner between these two teams without El Gary.

After a two-out, two-run double in the seventh to halve the deficit, Sanchez made Matt Barnes his personal servant with two outs in the ninth, and ruined the Red Sox announcers’ day. Just listen to these people.

The pained cries of two dudes who will not be going home for a very long time, and have to spend that extra time watching the Boston Red Sox.

There were many heroes here, in what was essentially two games at Fenway. Loaisiga, for one, who worked his way through two clogged innings. A worn down Aroldis Chapman, who might want to take his three-game suspension now (hey, what happened to that?). A laser-rocking Giancarlo Stanton.

Sanchez and LeMahieu had the indelible marks, but what seemed like a sleepy end to an eight-game winning streak became another spirited victory in a long line of them. And everyone contributed.

Even though it looked ugly for the vast majority, this is what winning teams do.

Oh, and Boston? The draft order is probably going to be a melange of 2019 and 2020 records, and you’re not passing the Pirates, anyway. Aw! So close!

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.