If not for the Yankees’ unprecedented string of injuries in the outfield, Greg Allen would still be spending his days with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. After all, he made Tuesday night’s start at Yankee Stadium in right field — the usual domain of All-Star Aaron Judge, who is among the six Yanks sidelined on the COVID-19 injured list.
Thanks to Allen, however, the Yankees pulled out their third straight win in a 6-4 victory over the Phillies. In a very busy fifth inning, Allen drew a leadoff walk off Phillies starter Aaron Nola, stole second base, advanced to third on a fly ball to center field and scored the game-tying run on a line drive that Phils shortstop Didi Gregorius threw past third base attempting to turn a double play. Brett Gardner, the next batter up, launched a go-ahead solo homer just above the head of Philadelphia right fielder Bryce Harper.
That was a follow-up to Allen’s third-inning effort, in which he legged out a triple on a sharp line drive that smacked the top of the right-field wall and bounced away as Harper scampered after it. With a headfirst slide, Allen reached the bag safely and the crowd roared with delight.
Electric plays like that have been a rarity for the Bronx Bombers this season. The Yankees entered Tuesday with just five triples on the year, the lowest mark of any team in the Majors.
Outfielder Estevan Florial, who was recalled before Tuesday’s game to replace the injured Trey Amburgey — himself a Triple-A replacement on the Yankees’ roster — drove in Allen in the third with a grounder to first base for his first career RBI. He got his second on his first big league homer in the eighth, the fourth Yanks big fly of the night.
The performance continued a memorable stretch of games for Allen, who has gone 4-for-8 since joining New York’s 26-man roster before last Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox.
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Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].