Lyou Yankees withstood a scare in the ninth inning which may have opened future salvage opportunities to a committee approach. Wandy Peralta retired Freddie Freeman bases loaded for the final out, and New York held off the Atlanta Braves 5-4 in a thriller Tuesday night to extend their Longest winning streak in 36 years at 11 games.
The two-run homer of DJ LeMahieu in the fifth gave New York the advantage. Giancarlo Stanton and Rougned Odor were also deep for the Yankees.
The closer of New York Aroldis Chapman, trying to preserve a 5-3 lead, allowed two hits and two walks in the ninth. Chapman’s ticket with the bases loaded to Jorge Soler reduced the margin to one, and manager Aaron Boone removed Chapman for Peralta, just in time to face the current National League MVP.
Peralta’s success in the high-stress situation impressed Boone. Peralta fell behind 3-1 on the count before throwing five consecutive trades. Freeman fouled four in a row and then hit a game-ending fly ball deep into left field.
Peralta got his third save for the Yankees and the fifth of his career. The other two arrived earlier this season with San Francisco.
The Yankees stayed four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East. The 11-game winning streak is New York’s longest from August 31 to September 10, 1985.