Yankees' Mike Ford beats Athletics with walk-off homer

Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Pinch-hitter Mike Ford only had one at-bat in the New York Yankees' series finale against the Oakland Athletics, but he used it to hit a 394-foot walk-off home run.

Ford's hack came in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Yankees' 5-4 triumph Sunday at Yankee Stadium in New York City. The victory gave the Yankees their 90th win of the season. Ford is the first Yankees rookie to hit a pinch-hit, walk-off home run.

"Late game situation against a righty, I gotta be ready," Ford said in his postgame interview with the YES Network.

The Yankees (90-48) trailed the Athletics (78-58) 4-0 entering the bottom of the eighth inning. Gleyber Torres put New York on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly before Didi Gregorius plated two more runs with an RBI single, cutting the Athletics' lead to 4-3.

Brett Gardner tied the score with a solo homer in the Yankees' first at-bat in the bottom of the final frame. Ford then stepped in as a pinch-hitter for Clint Frazier.

Ford fell behind 0-2 in the count against Athletics reliever Liam Hendricks before working the count full. He swatted Hendricks' sixth offering of the exchange over the center field fence, winning the game for the Yankees. The solo shot had an exit velocity of 100 mph and left the field in 5.2 seconds, according to Statcast.

"Our guys have been great at this all year," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters. "Whoever we have brought up, they've controlled situations and the moment really well -- maybe beyond their experience."

Gregorius was 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a strikeout in the win. Khris Davis went 2-for-3 with a run scored, a walk and a strikeout in the loss. Matt Olson homered for the Athletics.

Athletics starter Sean Manaea and Yankees starter J.A. Happ did not receive decisions for their efforts. Manaea allowed one hit in five scoreless innings. Happ allowed one hit in six scoreless innings.

The Yankees host the Texas Rangers at 1:05 p.m. EDT Monday in New York. The Athletics host the Los Angeles Angels at 10:07 p.m. EDT Tuesday in Oakland.