Yankees get Luis Castillo-style revenge on Oswald Peraza in walk-off win over Angels

If Jordan Romano wasn't in MLB, the Yankees might not be a playoff team. Thankfully, he is, and after left-hander Drew Pomeranz buzzsawed through Ben Rice/Aaron Judge/Cody Bellinger effortlessly in the eighth, rookie Angels manager Kurt Suzuki decided to go by the book and insert his addled closer again. It almost went better this time - but it didn't, thanks in large part to a thorn in the Yankees' side on Tuesday.

Romano, after battling back from 3-0 down in the count to Giancarlo Stanton to lead off the inning, yelped, "Let's f***ing go!" when defensive replacement Bryce Teodosio snared his 107.5 MPH liner to left. Momentum now firmly in his favor, he induced a weak popup by Jazz Chisholm for the second out -- oop. Wait, maybe not.

Because 17 years after Mets second baseman Luis Castillo stumbled, bumbled and collapsed as Mark Teixeira rounded the bases for the winning run, Oswald Peraza briefly interrupted his revenge tour to stare blankly at shortstop Zach Neto, lose sight of the flight of the ball, and allow it to drop to the dirt below.

The Yankees had life. They didn't squander it.

Jose Caballero a walk-off hero for Yankees yet again as heroics continue

With Chisholm and Austin Wells (who walked) both in motion, a Jose Caballero liner to the gap inexplicably scored both the tying and winning runs, with Wells touching the bag by a toe.

Romano, at Yankee Stadium, is an overflowing gas canister. At this point, it's science. Under no circumstances should he have entered this baseball game with a one-run edge tipping to the Angels. The Yankees took advantage of an historic, Luis Castillo-style gaffe, sure, but things certainly might not have spiraled if someone whose confidence was less shaken than Romano's had been in the baseball game.

Negatives? Sure, we've got 'em. Luis Gil was deplorable in the fifth. His fastball can no longer be classified as "gas". The Yankees had two baserunners - a Wells walk and a Wells bunt single - between Trent Grisham's two-run single that gave the Bombers a 3-0 lead and the ninth frame. The Yanks haven't controlled a single game, start to finish, since their 6-1 start. They've stolen four of the past 11 games and lost seven of 'em.

But this one goes in the win column and assures them that whenever Peraza thinks of his 3-for-3 revenge tour game on Tuesday, he'll also have to think about the sure win he allowed to drop to the ground on Wednesday.

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