The House Built By The Boss never sounded like it did in the eighth inning Tuesday. And it never shook like it, either.
Finally, in its ninth season of existence, the latest version of Yankee Stadium made its bones as a legitimate intimidating New York sports venue.
If it couldn’t roar and the cement pilings weren’t going to sway in the late innings of ALCS Game 4 against the Astros, it was never going to happen.
“It was loud,’’ Brett Gardner said after the Yankees erased a four-run deficit with two runs in the seventh and four in the eighth to post a 6-4 victory that evened the best-of-seven affair at 2-2 entering Wednesday’s Game 5 in The Bronx. “I don’t know if it was as loud as the old Stadium, but it was as loud as it gets.’’
Yuli Gurriel’s three-run double off David Robertson in the sixth and Starlin Castro’s second fielding error in the seventh put the Astros nine outs away from going up 3-1 and handing the ball to Yankee-killer Dallas Keuchel in Game 5.
Heading into the home seventh, Lance McCullers Jr. had blanked the Yankees and allowed one hit. Four pitches later, McCullers was gone after Judge hit a towering homer to center field, his second in as many games.
Didi Gregorius greeted reliever Chris Devenski with an opposite-field triple to left and the roar started to build. Gary Sanchez’s fly to center plated Gregorius and the Yankees had hope.
“Judge hit the home run to center field and we wound up scoring two runs,’’ Gregorius said when asked at what point the momentum shifted. “In the eighth inning things went our way.’’
Chad Green, who was victimized by Castro’s error, worked a perfect eighth and the Yankees proceeded to score four runs to take a 6-4 lead and produce a noise that hurt the eardrums.
Todd Frazier opened the eighth with a single to left and pinch-hitter Chase Headley hit a ball into the left-center field gap that he believed was a double out of the box. Instead he hit first base the wrong way and stumbled for three steps before hitting the dirt. When shortstop Carlos Correa threw to first, Headley was up and heading to second. He was called safe and a review upheld the call.
“You talk about going from extremely excited to extremely panicked in a matter of seconds,’’ Headley said of the play both Frazier and Astros manager A.J. Hinch said was the turning point of the game.
Gardner plated a run with a ground ball to the right side off closer Ken Giles and in front of Judge’s RBI double off the left-field wall. Gregorius’ ground single to left put runners at the corners for Sanchez (hitless in 13 previous ALCS at-bats), and with Gregorius on the move Sanchez blasted a double into the right-center field gap off a 99-mph fastball for a 6-4 advantage.
“It’s tough to describe to be honest,’’ Judge said of going from down 4-0 to up 6-4. “That ballpark is alive. It was unbelievable. That stadium was rocking. I didn’t know what to do after I touched home plate. I can’t describe it. That’s why we play this game for a moment like that.’’
For all the noise and all the shaking, the Yankees are tied 2-2 and facing Keuchel in Game 5 and Justin Verlander in Game 6.
“We have to get on him early and often,’’ Frazier said of the left-handed Keuchel, who blanked the Yankees across seven innings in the Astros’ 2-1 win in Game 1.
The Yankees talked of being fighters after coming back to win the AL wild-card game and proved it by winning the last three games of the ALCS after being down 2-0. Now, they have erased a 2-0 stagger against the Astros and with one more game in The Bronx there is a chance to add to what was heard and felt Tuesday.