You knew going into the night that emotions would be running high on River Ave. and 161st St. in the Bronx when the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays collided. No, it had nothing to do with a race for the top of the AL East or between two clubs in the thick of a Wild Card race either. Instead, it was the grand finale for one of the best players of a generation, and arguably the greatest infielder in the history of baseball.
That of course is Alex Rodriguez. Whatever you may think of him, his career was nothing short of fascinating. Between living up to the hype of being a brilliant prospect and maybe even exceeding it, to the shrouds of darkness relating to steroid and performance-enhancing drug usage, to the latter stages of his career where his play diminished, Rodriguez leaves the game of baseball having laid it all out there behind him.
The capper was set to be put down on Friday night in this AL East collision. The Yankees, 58-57, squared up with the Rays and after a pregame ceremony honoring the outgoing Yankee third baseman and a lengthy rain delay the two teams began their encounter. By night’s end, a 6-3 victory for the Yankees was in the books and unsurprisingly, A-Rod was pivotal in the victory.
Rodriguez smacked home a run in his first at-bat. The ball ripped off his bat and bled all the way to the right field wall and was enough to bring the speedy Brett Gardner home and tie the game at one run apiece. Evan Longoria, as he does, was a pest for the Yanks in the first three innings. Longo, who has killed the Bombers in the Bronx throughout his career, blasted a home run to left field in the first inning and then drove home a run in the third inning. However, after a 2-run single by Starlin Castro, they would regain the lead.
Castro would come up large after a Logan Forsythe sac fly. Castro belted a ball to the deepest part of the ballpark in the sixth inning, launching a 2-run home run to centerfield. The Yankees would add another run with a homer off the bat of Aaron Hicks in the ensuing inning, and thanks to a quality outing by CC Sabathia and three shutdown, scoreless innings by the bullpen, another tally would go into the win column.
The attention bestowed itself on Rodriguez in the ninth inning after he took the field one final time at the hot corner. Although the baseball gods didn’t deliver a ball to him, as so often is the case, Rodriguez would be serenaded with a standing ovation during his departure from the field and into the Yankee dugout, culminating an emotional night and an historic and captivating career.
The Play: Castro’s Blastro puts the Bombers in front (+.274 WPA)
A hat tip to BP Bronx’s Stacey Gotsulias for the inspiration on the title.
The tiebreaking rocket by the Yankees’ second baseman provided the biggest difference of the ball game to no surprise. Although A-Rod might have had all the headlines, it was Castro who shined bright in the hit column and on the scoreboard as well. Fittingly so. Rodriguez had made mention prior to the start of the game that the Yankees “can do some special things” if he starts hitting.
Funny how things work out sometimes.
Notes
– Didi Gregorius recorded his 23rd double of the 2016 campaign. With that extra-base hit he is now one shy of tying his career high set last year of 24 doubles with loads of time to exceed that mark by a hearty furlong or two.
– Castro and Mark Teixeira were the only Yankees to record multi-hit games on Friday night. The Bombers picked up eight hits from five players with two of course coming via the long ball and four in total going for extra bases.
– Longoria’s solo home run in the first inning was the Rays 3rd baseman’s 26th of the season. This marks the first time since 2013 that he has had more than 25 home runs and should he soon eclipse 30, it will be the fourth time in his career that he hits that plateau. On a night where one third baseman was honored, another terrific one displayed his terrific set of skills as well.
– The Yankees picked up their third victory in a row and are now three games above .500 on the season. The Rays, meanwhile, sport a less-than-gaudy 46-68 record after taking the loss in the Bronx on Friday night.
The Highlight: One final roll call
Too good. Too awesome. Not only do the Bleacher Creatures get into it, but from the sound of it, much of the capacity crowd inside Yankee Stadium partook in ‘Roll Call’ for A-Rod even as he was camped out in the dugout.
Up Next
Post-Alex Rodriguez life begins on Saturday afternoon when the Yankees host the Rays for the second meeting in this weekend series. Tyler Austin will be coming up to the club, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal, so a new face in pinstripes will be in attendance. Masahiro Tanaka (8-4, 3.32 ERA) toes the rubber for the Yankees while Matt Andriese (6-3, 2.90 ERA) opposes him.
Photo: Anthony Grupposo/USA Today Sports