DJ LeMahieu drove in a career-high six RBIs with a grand slam and a two-run double, Nestor Cortes earned his first road win of the year, and the New York Yankees extended their winning streak to five games with a 6-5 win on Wednesday. This victory completed a three-game sweep of the struggling Philadelphia Phillies.
Giancarlo Stanton contributed two hits for the Yankees, who bounced back from a rough period with their best stretch since winning eight games in a row from May 9 to June 6. The Yankees (65-45) are now just half a game behind AL East leader Baltimore (65-44).
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “We know we’re good and when we play well, we know we can beat anyone.”
For the Phillies, Weston Wilson hit a homer and Nick Castellanos had three RBIs. The team has lost four straight games and 11 of their last 15, reducing their NL East lead over second-place Atlanta to 6 1/2 games.
Two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts, ending the game with a double play, and is in a 1-for-30 slump.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson commented, “You know he’s going to come out of it at some point; he’s such a great hitter. He’s going to start hitting home runs again, and he’s going to start feeling good about himself. Maybe he needs a day off to clear his head a little bit.”
The Phillies had not been swept in a three-game series at home since July 22-24, 2022.
LeMahieu, who had been struggling this season with a .173 batting average and 13 RBIs, hit his third career grand slam and had his first game with two extra-base hits since August 25 of the previous year.
He became the only Yankees player with six RBIs in a game while driving in all of New York’s runs, joining Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra in that achievement.
LeMahieu said, “It’s been a tough go. Today felt good.”
He hit an 83.4 mph slider from Cristopher Sánchez (7-7) in the second inning for a 400-foot home run, which was confirmed after a video review showed a fan did not interfere with the ball.
LeMahieu said, “I was trying to put something in the air, put something in the outfield. Put a good swing on it.” After Philadelphia cut the lead to 4-3, LeMahieu added a two-run double off José Ruiz in the sixth inning.
Boone said, “Really excited for him. Obviously, guys know he’s grinding, know he’s going through it. He was clearly the difference today.”
Cortes (5-9) had been struggling with a 6.18 ERA in 11 road starts and was 0-4 in six starts since beating Baltimore on June 18. He allowed three runs and three hits in 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts. Boone praised Cortes, saying, “His stuff was great.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr., who had set a Yankees record with four home runs in his first three games, went 1 for 4 with a single.
Clay Holmes got his 22nd save in 30 chances by working around Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff single in the ninth. This was Holmes’ first save since July 12, after he had allowed a run-scoring wild pitch on Tuesday.
Holmes said, “You want to get back out there and help the team win.” In the seventh inning, Philadelphia almost took the lead when Austin Hays’ drive to left was caught against the wall by Alex Verdugo.
After Nick Castellanos’ RBI single in the eighth pulled the Phillies within a run, newly acquired right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. stranded the bases loaded by striking out Brandon Marsh. Sánchez allowed six runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts.
The game was played in front of another sellout crowd of 44,543, with many Yankees fans present. During the game, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole laughed when the Phillie Phanatic autographed a ball for New York players with “Go Phils!”
Boone said, “Anytime you get a sweep and play this well and win some tough, gritty games and you’re going into an off day, that feels a little better.”
