Volpe's Grand Slam Caps Massive 7th as Yankees Rout Rockies 10-3
Anthony Volpe went 3-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBI, single-handedly blowing the game open with a grand slam in the seventh inning. New York turned a comfortable lead into a rout, handing Colorado a 10-3 defeat on September 10.
The Yankees wasted no time. García Jr. launched a 413-foot shot to center in the first, scoring Rice and pushing New York's win probability from 76% to 87% — the biggest single swing of the night. Colorado answered immediately in the second when Kyle Karros went the other way, a 431-foot blast to left that cut the deficit to 2-1. But New York wasn't done in that frame: Volpe singled to left to score McMahon, and Bellinger followed with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Wells, pushing the Yankees to a 4-1 lead before the Rockies could exhale.
The game looked like it might tighten in the seventh when Jake McCarthy tripled to right to score Tovar, making it 4-2. That's when the story of the night took over. Jones singled to center, scoring both Bellinger and Domínguez to push it to 6-2, and then Volpe stepped in and ended any remaining suspense — a 352-foot homer to right that cleared the bases, scoring Jones, McMahon, and Wells. Just like that, it was 10-2, and the ballgame was effectively over. Volpe's 5 RBI on the night looks like the kind of performance that defines a September push.
On the mound, Max Fried's night was short but sharp — 3.1 innings, 1 hit, 1 earned run, and 7 strikeouts. He didn't make it deep into the game, but the stuff appears to have been electric. Luis Gil followed with 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits but keeping Colorado off the board, and John Schreiber closed things out with 1.1 clean innings. Ryan Feltner took the loss for Colorado, allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits over 5 innings with just 2 strikeouts — he kept the Rockies in it longer than the final score suggests, but the seventh-inning avalanche made his effort irrelevant. Colorado's only consolation was a garbage-time run in the eighth when a fielding error by right fielder Domínguez allowed Veen to score, making it 10-3. Spencer Jones also deserves a mention — 3-for-4 with 2 RBI — quietly one of the cleaner offensive nights on either side.