There was a time not long ago when it was unclear what role Isiah Kiner-Falefa had on the Yankees.
The former starting shortstop now is playing regularly in left field and he delivered at the plate Saturday, hitting the game-winning RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Yankees a 3-2 win over the Padres.
“He’s playing great for us right now,’’ manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s driving the ball well and I loved him in that spot. I knew there was a good chance he’d put it in play.”
The spot Boone refered to was runners on the corners and one out in the 10th inning after Harrison Bader had bunted automatic runner Greg Allen to third.
“It was one of those at-bats where you knew he was gonna get a hit,’’ said DJ LeMahieu, who was walked intentionally to start the inning and also doubled in a run and homered.
LeMahieu, who had been in a slump, also contributed on defense, making a terrific play to end the top of the 10th when he threw out Fernando Tatis Jr. on a slow roller to third to strand automatic runner Ha-Seong Kim.
The Yankees had lost three straight, all at home, following a five-game winning streak.
They got another strong start from Luis Severino in his second outing of the season.
The right-hander allowed just one hit — a homer by Tatis in the fourth — in 6 ²/₃ innings.
It was the second straight game in The Bronx with a homer for Tatis, who seemingly relishes playing the villain in front of Yankees fans.
Severino started the game by retiring the first 10 batters he faced before Tatis’ homer tied the score at 1-1.
The Yankees had taken the lead in the first inning after back-to-back one-out singles by Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo. LeMahieu’s double drove in Judge, but third base coach Luis Rojas ill-advisedly sent Rizzo, who was thrown out at the plate easily.
The Padres took their first lead in the seventh inning.
Severino left with two runners on and two out after a Gleyber Torres error extended the inning.
Michael King followed by allowing a run-scoring single to Kim to make it 2-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, LeMahieu hit a solo homer to right-center to tie the score again.
He hadn’t homered since May 11.
Clay Holmes tossed a scoreless 10th before the Yankees won for the fifth time in seven extra-inning games this year.
And it was Kiner-Falefa who delivered the key blow.
He has driven in five runs in his last eight games.
And his last five starts — and eight of his past nine — have come in left field.
It’s a long way from being the everyday shortstop, which he was last season until the playoffs, but the move is paying off — for Kiner-Falefa and the Yankees.
“I love this game,” Kiner-Falefa said. “I love being a baseball player. It doesn’t need to be one position.”
“What a gamer,’’ LeMahieu said of Kiner-Falefa. “He’s played multiple positions now and hasn’t complained once. He wants to be out there. He’s a great teammate.”
Boone said Kiner-Falefa has played the outfield well enough since dedicating himself to learning to play there that he has become “a real option” in both left and center instead of just a spare part in the wake of Anthony Volpe’s emergence at short.
“You get character-reveals all the time in this game,’’ Boone said. “You’re gonna face rough waters. What’s been revealed is this guy wants to go out and be part of a winning team.”
