NEW YORK -- Greg Bird busted out of his slump with a long home run that began a perfect night at the plate, and Michael Pineda pitched the New York Yankees past the staggering St. Louis Cardinals 9-3 on Sunday for their seventh straight victory.
Aaron Hicks also hit a homer and Aaron Judge was robbed of one by a fan in the bleachers, forcing the young Yankees bopper to settle for an RBI triple. New York chased Adam Wainwright (0-3) in the fifth and finished a three-game sweep that left St. Louis at 3-9, the worst record in the National League and its poorest start since 1988.
His cap cocked to the side, Pineda (2-1) went seven innings in a sharp follow-up to his dominant outing last Monday, when he retired the first 20 Tampa Bay batters and struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings for an 8-1 victory in New York's home opener.
Pineda's strong encore was an especially encouraging sign for the Yankees, looking for a steady season from a talented pitcher who has been maddeningly inconsistent during his tenure with the team.
Austin Romine and Ronald Torreyes, the bottom two batters in the order, each had a two-run double against reliever Miguel Socolovich during a five-run eighth that made it 9-2. That capped New York's sweep of an early interleague series between two of baseball's most successful and storied franchises.
The Yankees have won their first six home games for the first time since opening 7-0 in the Bronx in 1998.
Chase Headley, who also had a perfect night at the plate, singled to start the second, and Judge hit a drive to deep right-center, where a fan reached out just next to the auxiliary scoreboard hoping to catch a home run. The ball popped out of the man's mitt and back into play, triggering a fan interference call by the umpires.
Following a replay review that lasted nearly three minutes, the ruling stood and Judge remained at third with an RBI triple -- even though it appeared his shot would have cleared the fence if not for the eager fan.
Bird made all that moot for the Yankees when he sent Wainwright's next pitch way over the right-field wall and into the elevated bleachers for his first home run since Oct. 1,2015, against Boston.
The 24-year-old first baseman missed last season while recovering from right shoulder surgery after hitting 11 homers in 46 games as a rookie in 2015.
Following an outstanding spring, Bird began the night 1 for 26 this season and hitless in his past 20 at-bats. But manager Joe Girardi said before the game he saw some good signs Saturday and was committed to keeping the youngster in the lineup.
"I think he has to play through this to get to the other side," Girardi said. "There's a little bit of a track record, and we really believe that he's going to hit."
Bird also doubled in the fourth, walked in the sixth and singled in the eighth. Hicks added a solo homer off Wainwright in the fifth.
Yadier Molina's leadoff homer in the seventh made it 4-2, but Pineda maintained his poise and retired the next three batters.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: 1B Matt Carpenter was hit in the bare hand by Hicks' first-inning groundout and appeared to damage the nail on his right ring finger. A trainer worked on Carpenter, who initially had blood streaming all over his hand. He remained in the game.
Yankees: DH Matt Holliday (stiff lower back) sat out for the second consecutive day against his former team, denying him a chance to face good buddy Wainwright. Holliday felt much better, according to Girardi, and the manager said he would be surprised if Holliday wasn't available to play Monday night.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (0-1, 5.23 ERA) faces Pittsburgh RHP Ivan Nova (1-1, 2.25) in the opener of a three-game series Monday night back home in St. Louis.
Yankees: LHP Jordan Montgomery makes his second major league start Monday night against Chicago White Sox lefty Derek Holland (1-1, 1.50 ERA). Montgomery struck out seven over 4 2/3 innings during his debut last Wednesday against Tampa Bay. Holland allowed one hit in six scoreless innings last time out at Cleveland.
St. Louis Cardinals
Aaron Hicks also hit a homer and Aaron Judge was robbed of one by a fan in the bleachers, forcing the young Yankees bopper to settle for an RBI triple. New York chased Adam Wainwright (0-3) in the fifth and finished a three-game sweep that left St. Louis at 3-9, the worst record in the National League and its poorest start since 1988.
His cap cocked to the side, Pineda (2-1) went seven innings in a sharp follow-up to his dominant outing last Monday, when he retired the first 20 Tampa Bay batters and struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings for an 8-1 victory in New York's home opener.
Pineda's strong encore was an especially encouraging sign for the Yankees, looking for a steady season from a talented pitcher who has been maddeningly inconsistent during his tenure with the team.
Austin Romine and Ronald Torreyes, the bottom two batters in the order, each had a two-run double against reliever Miguel Socolovich during a five-run eighth that made it 9-2. That capped New York's sweep of an early interleague series between two of baseball's most successful and storied franchises.
The Yankees have won their first six home games for the first time since opening 7-0 in the Bronx in 1998.
Chase Headley, who also had a perfect night at the plate, singled to start the second, and Judge hit a drive to deep right-center, where a fan reached out just next to the auxiliary scoreboard hoping to catch a home run. The ball popped out of the man's mitt and back into play, triggering a fan interference call by the umpires.
Following a replay review that lasted nearly three minutes, the ruling stood and Judge remained at third with an RBI triple -- even though it appeared his shot would have cleared the fence if not for the eager fan.
Bird made all that moot for the Yankees when he sent Wainwright's next pitch way over the right-field wall and into the elevated bleachers for his first home run since Oct. 1,2015, against Boston.
The 24-year-old first baseman missed last season while recovering from right shoulder surgery after hitting 11 homers in 46 games as a rookie in 2015.
Following an outstanding spring, Bird began the night 1 for 26 this season and hitless in his past 20 at-bats. But manager Joe Girardi said before the game he saw some good signs Saturday and was committed to keeping the youngster in the lineup.
"I think he has to play through this to get to the other side," Girardi said. "There's a little bit of a track record, and we really believe that he's going to hit."
Bird also doubled in the fourth, walked in the sixth and singled in the eighth. Hicks added a solo homer off Wainwright in the fifth.
Yadier Molina's leadoff homer in the seventh made it 4-2, but Pineda maintained his poise and retired the next three batters.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: 1B Matt Carpenter was hit in the bare hand by Hicks' first-inning groundout and appeared to damage the nail on his right ring finger. A trainer worked on Carpenter, who initially had blood streaming all over his hand. He remained in the game.
Yankees: DH Matt Holliday (stiff lower back) sat out for the second consecutive day against his former team, denying him a chance to face good buddy Wainwright. Holliday felt much better, according to Girardi, and the manager said he would be surprised if Holliday wasn't available to play Monday night.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Lance Lynn (0-1, 5.23 ERA) faces Pittsburgh RHP Ivan Nova (1-1, 2.25) in the opener of a three-game series Monday night back home in St. Louis.
Yankees: LHP Jordan Montgomery makes his second major league start Monday night against Chicago White Sox lefty Derek Holland (1-1, 1.50 ERA). Montgomery struck out seven over 4 2/3 innings during his debut last Wednesday against Tampa Bay. Holland allowed one hit in six scoreless innings last time out at Cleveland.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| St. Louis - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | STL | NYY |
| Fowler struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Díaz lined out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Carpenter walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Piscotty reached on bunt single to first, Carpenter to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Adams struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Adam Wainwright pitching for St. Louis | STL | NYY |
| Gardner struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Hicks grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| Castro singled to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Ellsbury lined out to left. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| St. Louis - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | STL | NYY |
| Molina grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Gyorko singled to shallow left. | 0 | 0 |
| Grichuk grounded out to pitcher, Gyorko to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Garcia singled to left, Gyorko scored. | 1 | 0 |
| Fowler singled to right, Garcia to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Díaz flied out to center. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Adam Wainwright pitching for St. Louis | STL | NYY |
| Headley singled to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Judge tripled to deep right, Headley scored. | 1 | 1 |
| Bird homered to right (444 feet), Judge scored. | 1 | 3 |
| Romine singled to left. | 1 | 3 |
| Torreyes grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Romine out at second. | 1 | 3 |
| Gardner struck out looking. | 1 | 3 |
| 3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| St. Louis - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | STL | NYY |
| Carpenter grounded out to second. | 1 | 3 |
| Piscotty flied out to center. | 1 | 3 |
| Adams lined out to center. | 1 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Adam Wainwright pitching for St. Louis | STL | NYY |
| Hicks singled to shallow left. | 1 | 3 |
| Castro struck out swinging. | 1 | 3 |
| Ellsbury struck out swinging. Hicks caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. | 1 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| St. Louis - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | STL | NYY |
| Molina struck out swinging. | 1 | 3 |
| Gyorko grounded out to third. | 1 | 3 |
| Grichuk struck out swinging. | 1 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Adam Wainwright pitching for St. Louis | STL | NYY |
| Headley walked. | 1 | 3 |
| Judge grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Headley out at second. | 1 | 3 |
| Bird doubled to deep right. | 1 | 3 |
| Romine walked. | 1 | 3 |
| Torreyes grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Romine out at second. | 1 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| St. Louis - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | STL | NYY |
| Garcia singled to right center. | 1 | 3 |
| Fowler struck out swinging. | 1 | 3 |
| Díaz grounded into double play, pitcher to second to first, Garcia out at second. | 1 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Adam Wainwright pitching for St. Louis | STL | NYY |
| Gardner grounded out to second. | 1 | 3 |
| Hicks homered to right (331 feet). | 1 | 4 |
| Castro singled to left. | 1 | 4 |
| Ellsbury grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, Castro out at second. | 1 | 4 |
| Headley singled to right, Ellsbury to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Bowman relieved Wainwright. | 1 | 4 |
| Ellsbury to third, Headley to second on passed ball by Molina. | 1 | 4 |
| Judge struck out looking. | 1 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| St. Louis - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | STL | NYY |
| Carpenter flied out to left. | 1 | 4 |
| Piscotty lined out to center. | 1 | 4 |
| Adams grounded out to third. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Matt Bowman pitching for St. Louis | STL | NYY |
| Bird walked. | 1 | 4 |
| Romine grounded into fielder's choice to third, Bird out at second. | 1 | 4 |
| Torreyes flied out to center. | 1 | 4 |
| Gardner grounded out to pitcher. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| St. Louis - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | STL | NYY |
| Molina homered to left (357 feet). | 2 | 4 |
| Gyorko struck out swinging. | 2 | 4 |
| Grichuk popped out to first. | 2 | 4 |
| Garcia grounded out to second. | 2 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Kevin Siegrist pitching for St. Louis | STL | NYY |
| Siegrist relieved Bowman. | 2 | 4 |
| Hicks walked. | 2 | 4 |
| Castro lined into double play, to first, Hicks doubled off first. | 2 | 4 |
| Ellsbury walked. | 2 | 4 |
| Ellsbury caught stealing second, pitcher to first to second. | 2 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| St. Louis - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Dellin Betances pitching for New York | STL | NYY |
| Betances relieved Pineda. | 2 | 4 |
| Fowler popped out to third. | 2 | 4 |
| Díaz grounded out to third. | 2 | 4 |
| Carpenter singled to center. | 2 | 4 |
| Piscotty walked, Carpenter to second. | 2 | 4 |
| Adams struck out swinging. | 2 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Miguel Socolovich pitching for St. Louis | STL | NYY |
| Socolovich relieved Siegrist. | 2 | 4 |
| Headley walked. | 2 | 4 |
| Judge walked, Headley to second. | 2 | 4 |
| Bird singled to right, Headley to third, Judge to second. | 2 | 4 |
| Romine doubled to deep right center, Headley and Judge scored, Bird to third. | 2 | 6 |
| Torreyes hit a ground rule double to deep left, Bird and Romine scored. | 2 | 8 |
| Cecil relieved Socolovich. | 2 | 8 |
| Gardner grounded out to first, Torreyes to third. | 2 | 8 |
| Hicks hit sacrifice fly to center, Torreyes scored. | 2 | 9 |
| Castro flied out to right. | 2 | 9 |
| 5 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| St. Louis - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Bryan Mitchell pitching for New York | STL | NYY |
| Kozma at shortstop. | 2 | 9 |
| Torreyes at third base. | 2 | 9 |
| Mitchell relieved Betances. | 2 | 9 |
| Fryer hit for Molina. | 2 | 9 |
| Fryer doubled to right. | 2 | 9 |
| Fryer to third on wild pitch by Mitchell. | 2 | 9 |
| Gyorko walked. | 2 | 9 |
| Grichuk grounded into fielder's choice to third, Fryer scored, Gyorko safe at second on throwing error by third baseman Torreyes. | 3 | 9 |
| Garcia struck out swinging. | 3 | 9 |
| Fowler flied out to left. | 3 | 9 |
| Díaz lined out to left. | 3 | 9 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
St. Louis Cardinals
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fowler CF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | .143 | .222 | .163 |
| Díaz SS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .245 | .245 | .490 |
| Carpenter 1B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | .222 | .362 | .306 |
| Piscotty RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | .258 | .395 | .484 |
| Adams DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | .174 | .269 | .174 |
| Molina C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .229 | .310 | .343 |
a-Fryer PH
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .250 | .333 | .500 |
| Gyorko 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | .250 | .323 | .500 |
| Grichuk LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .182 | .217 | .364 |
| Garcia 2B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | .333 | .529 | .333 |
| Totals | 35 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 137 | |||
| a-doubled to right for Y Molina in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Fryer (2, Mitchell) HR: Molina (1, 7th inning off Pineda 0 on, 0 Out) RBI: Garcia (1), Molina (6), Grichuk (7) 2-out RBI: Garcia GIDP: Díaz Cardinals RISP: 1-8 (Garcia 1-2, Díaz 0-2, Fowler 0-1, Grichuk 0-1, Adams 0-2) Team LOB: 8 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 4 (Garcia-Díaz-Carpenter, Molina-Díaz, Díaz-Garcia-Carpenter, Carpenter). PB: Molina. | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Yankee Stadium, New York, NY |
| Attendance | 31,706 (63.9% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:17 |
| Weather | 80 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 8 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Jeff Kellogg, First Base - Tim Timmons, Second Base - James Hoye, Third Base - Will Little |
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