Fireworks night started early in The Bronx on Monday night, as Harrison Bader hit a three-run, go-ahead homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to spark the Yankees’ 6-3 win over Baltimore.
After trailing 3-0 in the third, the Yankees got back in the game with back-to-back homers by Anthony Volpe and Kyle Higashioka with one out in the fifth and tied the game on a wild pitch in the seventh.
But Bader provided the biggest blast of the night against second-place Baltimore, as the Yankees opened a seven-game homestand with a win.
Giancarlo Stanton started the winning rally with a rocket single to center to start the bottom of the eighth.
Anthony Rizzo then singled through the right side of the infield off lefty Danny Coulombe to send pinch-runner Oswaldo Cabrera to second.
Bader came up and drilled a 1-1 sweeper deep into the seats in left.
It came against an Orioles team that snapped a four-game losing streak when they beat the Twins on Sunday.
The Yankees entered the game four games back of their former punching bags from Camden Yards and with Domingo German on the mound for the first time since his perfect game in Oakland.
German retired the side in order in the first, but his run of perfection ended quickly in the second, when Ryan O’Hearn led off with a single to center and moved to second on Bader’s error.
Ramon Urias followed with a base hit to left, putting runners on the corners with no one out and Cedric Mullins drove in the game’s first run with the third straight hit off German.
Ex-Yankee Aaron Hicks then came to the plate and received a loud chorus of boos from the crowd and popped to third.
Higashioka picked off Urias at second base and German got Adam Frazier on a comebacker to keep it a one-run game.
The Yankees had a pair of runners on with one out in the second, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s double play ended the threat and Baltimore added a pair of runs in the third on an Adley Rutschman RBI double that Kiner-Falefa couldn’t come up with in left and a run-scoring single by O’Hearn.
German’s night ended after back-to-back singles with one out in the fifth.
He left to a loud ovation and acknowledged the crowd who were celebrating his perfect game — and not another shaky outing at home.
Nick Ramirez entered and struck out O’Hearn and got Mullins on a groundout, as the lefty retired all five batters he faced.
Volpe, who lined out to the warning track in left-center to lead off the bottom of the third, crushed a solo shot with two outs in the fifth.
Higashioka, after doubling off Wells in the third, made it back-to-back homers for the Yankees to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Ian Hamilton escaped damage in the seventh when Volpe snared O’Hearn’s low liner to strand a pair of runners in scoring position.
In the bottom of the inning, Kiner-Falefa and Volpe singled off Mike Baumann.
Higashioka, who scalded the ball in his two at-bats, bunted the runners over and LeMahieu had to face tough right-hander Yennier Cano.
With the infield in, LeMahieu hit a comebacker and Kiner-Falefa was thrown out between third and home.
But Cano bailed out the Yankees with Torres at the plate, as he fired a wild pitch that scored Volpe to tie the game.
Torres lined out to first to end the inning, as the Yankees fell to 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
But they came alive in the eighth and also got 4 ²/₃ scoreless innings from the bullpen.
