Reynolds homers twice, Pirates beat Yankees 4-2, delay NY from clinching ALCS home-field advantage

Updated Sep. 28, 2024 1:25 a.m. ET

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Bryan Reynolds homered twice, including a tiebreaking two-run drive in the eighth inning that lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Yankees 4-2 on Friday night and delayed New York from clinching home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s two-run single put the Yankees ahead in the fifth inning but Nick Gonzales and Bryan Reynolds hit consecutive homers off Carlos Rodón in the the sixth.

“I said, `You ever get two at Yankee Stadium?' And he said, `no.' I said, `Well, I’ve seen people get two at Yankee Stadium,'” Pirates manager Derek Shelton recalled telling Reynolds.

After batting right-handed against Rodón, Reynolds homered to center hitting left-handed against Tommy Kahnle (0-2).

“He walked back and said, `Yeah, so have I now,'” Shelton remembered.

Reynolds looked at Shelton as he circled the bases.

“So, yeah, spoken into existence,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds had his second multihomer game this season and the seventh of his big league career — his third from both sides. He leads the Pirates with 24 homers and 88 RBIs, reaching 24 homers for the fourth straight season.

Joey Wentz, Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski (5-5), Dennis Santana and former Yankee Aroldis Chapman (13th save in 18 chances) combined to retire the last 14 Yankees in order.

New York opens the Division Series at home Oct. 5 and would be assured home-field advantage in the League Championship Series by winning one of its last two games or by Cleveland losing one of its last two.

Rodón allowed two runs, four hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings. He finished 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA, a rebound from 3-8 with a career-worst 6.85 ERA in an injury-marred 2023 after signing a $162 million, six-year contract. Rodón has allowed a career-high 31 homers, 23 of them solo.

“The goal was to go out there and make every start this year and did that,” Rodón said.

A night after clinching the AL East, the Yankees rested Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and Austin Wells. Judge got his third game off this season after June 10 against Kansas City and June 19 against Baltimore. He has homered in five straight games, raising his major league-leading total to 58.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone thought about using Judge and Stanton as pinch hitters in the ninth inning.

“Unless we put together a rally with some traffic I wasn't I really valued having those guys down today," Boone said. “But it was tempting, yes.”

New York plans to take Monday off, have combinations of workouts and simulated games the following three days and a mandatory workout on Friday ahead of the Division Series opener.

Pittsburgh rookie Jared Jones gave up two runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings, reaching 100 mph on four pitches. The 23-year-old rookie right-hander made five starts after missing eight weeks with a strained lat muscle and finished 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings.

“I would say it’s terrible but a lot of other people would say I had a pretty good one,” Jones said. “Coming back after injury it kind of took a while for the stuff to come back, and I felt like it finally all came back in the last two, three starts.”

His fastball velocity against the Yankees averaged 98.7 mph, 1.4 mph above his season average and nearly the 98.8 season average of teammate Paul Skenes. Jones' goal for next year is “just trying to get as strong as possible and maybe I get a start or two where I beat Paul Skenes in a velo for a week.”

Chisholm stole a pair of bases for a career-high 40.

“It’s number that we were aiming for all year, 40 bags,” he said.

Right-hander Michael Burrows was added to the Pirates taxi squad.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: INF DJ LeMahieu, who hasn’t played since Sept. 3 because of right hip impingement, plans to resume baseball activities in a few days. “I don’t know if they’ll use me or not, but I’m definitely going to try to be available,” he said. ... RHP Jake Cousins, out with a right pec strain since Sept. 19, played catch Friday for the first time since getting hurt.

UP NEXT

Skenes (11-3, 1.99), a top contender for NL Rookie of the Year, makes his 23rd and final start. He has thrown 96 pitches of 100 mph or more — Angels right-hander José Soriano is second among starting pitchers with 40. RHP Luis Gil (15-6, 3.27) starts for the Yankees.

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