It’s amazing how quickly a few big moments can erase weeks worth of anguish. On Friday, Jacoby Ellsbury stole home. On Saturday, Brett Gardner stole the show.
Gardner helped carry the Yankees to their second consecutive win Saturday afternoon with a three-hit day that included a walk-off home run, downing Tampa 3-2. The victory helped the team lock up their first series win since the season’s opening week and moves them to 7-9 on the season.
The Yankee offense has been roundly criticized for an inability to hit with runners in scoring position over the past couple of weeks, but for most of Saturday they didn’t hit much in any situation. Making his major league debut, Rays’ lefty Blake Snell lived up to his billing as Baseball Prospectus’ 21st overall prospect by holding the Yankees to one run and two hits over five innings. After allowing a run to score on a wild pitch and watching Alex Rodriguez miss a homer by less than a foot in the first inning, the 23-year-old buckled down. Flashing a wicked curveball, he struck out six and allowed just a single baserunner the rest of the day.
Masahiro Tanaka matched Snell for most of the game, turning in his strongest start of the season and going seven innings for the second turn in a row. Tanaka struck out seven and allowed just five hits and a walk, but didn’t escape completely unscathed. The Rays were able to get to him in the fourth when they tied the game up with a pair of doubles by Logan Morrison and Corey Dickerson. Then in the fifth, Kevin Kiermaier clanked a hanger off the foul pole in right field to give Tampa a 2-1 lead. With the Yankees’ struggling more than ever at the dish, it seemed that would be enough.
When Enny Romero walked Brian McCann to lead of the bottom of the seventh though, the Yankees built a rally. After Starlin Castro grounded out, Xavier Cedeno entered for Tampa and promptly walked Chase Headley. Cedeno bounced back by whiffing Didi Gregorius, but Ellsbury was able to load the bases after incredibly drawing his third catcher’s interference call of the season. With two outs and the bases loaded, Gardner ripped a line drive back at the pitcher. The ball deflected off of Cedeno’s glove and dribbled away into no-man’s land between first and second base. Gardner was safe at first and the tying run scored.
Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller were able to continue their dominance to keep the game knotted at two, and help set the stage for Gardner again in the bottom of the ninth.
The Play: Gardner’s Walk-Off Homer in the Ninth (+.465 WPA)
After Erasmo Ramirez got two quick outs to start the ninth, Gardner launched a 3-1 fastball deep into the right field stands. The hit was Gardner’s third of the day and marks the Yankees’ first walk-off win of the season. The team had one walk-off homer in 2015, which also came at the expense of Tampa Bay.
Top Performers
Yankees: Brett Gardner (3 for 5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI)
Rays: Corey Dickerson (3 for 4, 1 2B, 1 RBI)
Notes
-Andrew Miller’s scoreless appearance in the ninth inning marked the first time all season that he failed to record a strikeout. Miller was likely to return in the tenth inning had Gardner not homered. Betances struck out two of his three batters in the eighth inning, extending his streak to ten games with at least one strikeout recorded.
-Ellsbury’s reach on catcher’s interference in the seventh inning was his third of the season. The single-season record was set at eight by Roberto Kelly in 1992.
-Aaron Hicks has been diagnosed with traumatic bursitis in his shoulder after being sent for an MRI. Hicks injured the shoulder diving for a ball in Friday’s game. He received a cortisone shot and will be shut down for four to five days. Manager Joe Girardi said he was unsure if Hicks might have to serve a stint on the DL.
The Quote
“It’s such a long season. I think it’s important to keep things in perspective and just take things one day at a time. For the last week we haven’t been playing that well and had trouble scoring runs, but we’ve gotten great pitching the past two days, the back of our bullpen is outstanding, and we have a great group of guys. It’s a lot of fun.” -Brett Gardner on the back-to-back wins erasing the team’s recent struggles
The Highlight: Gardner’s game-tying single in the seventh
The walk-off is obviously the real highlight, but Gardner gets double the honors for his fantastic showing on Saturday. His two-out, bases-loaded liner in the seventh tied the game and did a lot to ease the mounting frustration with the Yankee offense. This was the second most impactful moment of the day, adding .211 WPA. Combined, Gardner’s final two at-bats accounted for nearly 70 percent of the win.
Up Next
The Yankees will look for their first sweep of the season when they take on LHP Drew Smyly on Sunday. The Yankees have struggled mightily against lefties thus far in 2016, and Smyly will put them to the test yet again. Through 21 and 2/3 innings, he’s posted a 2.91 ERA and struck out 27. Opposing him will be Michael Pineda, who has had an erratic start to the season, allowing 10 runs in his first 17 innings. First pitch is slated for 1:05 pm.
Lead photo: Adam Hunger / USA Today Sports