DYERSVILLE, Iowa — If you hit it, it will go.
This had nothing to do with ghosts in the cornstalks or Kevin Costner showing up for the first Field of Dreams Game.
This was all about baseball in Iowa on a hot and muggy Thursday night in August.
The ambience of building a ballpark a couple hundred yards behind the one used in the epic Field of Dreams movie was spectacular, but baseballs flying out to all fields was a theme of a night that had a ton of drama.
The Yankees staged a huge comeback scoring four runs with two outs in the ninth on homers by Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to pull away, but Tim Anderson trumped that with a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth and the White Sox pulled out a wild 9-8 victory.
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Britton retired the first hitter in the ninth, but No. 9 hitter Seby Zavala walked and Anderson followed with a first-pitch, two-run walk-off homer to right.
The Yankees trailed 7-4 after eight innings, but scored four runs with two outs in the ninth off White Sox closer Liam Hendriks on two-run homers by Judge and Stanton.
The rally started with Tyler Wade hitting a leadoff single. Two outs later, Judge went deep for the second time on the night to make it a one-run game. Joey Gallo followed with a walk to put the tying run on base, then Stanton hit a first-pitch homer to left to put the Yankees on top.
Until the ninth, the Yankees starting pitcher Andrew Heaney was set up to be a goat, as he gave up three homers and three runs over five innings.
It became apparent early on that this could be a high-scoring affair. In the top of the first, Yankees left fielder Joey Gallo hit a routine flyball to center that carried and carried to the warning track. In the bottom of the inning, White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu hit a liner to left that looked like an out until it sailed over the see-through wall and into a cornfield.
Judge’s three-run homer to right in the third off White Sox starter Lance Lynn made it 3-1 Yankees, but Chicago came right back to score in the bottom of the inning, the big blow a three-run, two-out homer by Eloy Jimenez.
White Sox catcher Seby Zavala, the No. 9 hitter, belted a two-run shot in the fourth to put Chicago on top 7-3.
The Yankees got a run back in the sixth when Brett Gardner homered.
This was the third bad start in a row for Heaney since he was traded by the LA Angels to the Yankees on July 30. This also could be his last start because Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery, who were in Iowa for Thursday’s game, may be off the COVID injured list by early next week.
Heaney has allowed 15 runs on 15 hits over 15 innings as a Yankee and has a 5.78 ERA for the season.
NOTABLE
-- Corey Kluber had major control problems in his first rehab start Thursday night, allowing five runs on two hits and four hits over 1 1/3 innings pitching for Double-A Somerset. Kluber threw 45 pitches, 20 for strikes facing Portland.
-- Cole and Montgomery will throw a bullpen on Friday during the Yankees’ off day in Chicago and, according to manager Aaron Boone, “We’ll see where we are from there.”
-- Boone had no update on first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who has been on the COVID IL since Aug. 8.
LOOKING AHEAD Friday: Off day
Saturday: Yankees at White Sox, 7:10 p.m., EST, YES. RHP Jameson Taillon (7-4, 3.82) vs. RHP Dylan Cease (9-6, 3.99).
Sunday: Yankees at White Sox, 2:10 p.m., EST. LHP Nestor Cortes (0-1. 2.70) vs. RHP Lucas Giolito (9-8, 3.81).
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Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.