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Game 140 recap: Win six, pick up sticks

The surging New York Yankees aimed to pick up their sixth victory in a row Friday night in their second of four against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. After Thursday’s dramatic victory, there weren’t many theatrical elements to the Friday night showing in The Bronx. Instead, the Yankees poured it on and extended their win streak to the tune of a 7-5 victory.

The Yankees were mostly aided by the home run ball in this encounter. Gary Sanchez and Mark Teixeira both went deep with Tex crushing his 11th career grand slam that broke the game open. Sanchez clocked a 400-plus foot home run earlier in the game, his eighth home run of at least 400 feet in his short stint in pinstripes. The Rays also used the home run ball to their benefit as Logan Morrison and Steven Souza Jr. smacked homers of the solo variety.

Offense was not entirely the story as they got good work from starter Michael Pineda. Although Pineda worked himself into trouble towards the end of his outing, he fanned seven batters in the encounter. Aside from Chasen Shreve being tagged for two runs, the Yankee bullpen had 3.2 clean innings of work against the Rays who amassed nine hits in the ball game, six of which came against the Yankee starter.

The game would be mired by not one, not two, but three rain delays including a lengthy one during the ninth inning.

The Play: Tex’s Grand Salami (+.234)

Given the situation and how the game presented itself at the time of this grand slam by Mark Teixeira, it’s hardly surprising that this was the most impactful play of the ballgame. The long blast from the Yankees first baseman swung probability in their favor and by night’s end, they were able to reap the benefits.

Notes

– Although he has had a rough go in September, Starlin Castro showed some promise with a 1-for-3 day at the plate with two walks.

– Pineda’s outing marked the 19th time this season that he has amassed at least six strikeouts. He finished his 4.2-inning outing with seven in total.

– Three Rays hitters scored multi-hit games as Logan Morison, Steven Souza Jr. and Corey Dickerson collected three hits, two hits and two hits respectively. The Yankees, meanwhile, had two such hitters as Gary Sanchez and Mark Teixeira also each recorded two-hit nights at the plate.

– The Yankees improve to 75-65 on the year and 42-28 at home.

The Highlight: Sanchez flashes a dazzling pickoff

Don’t run on Sanchez. Don’t pitch to Sanchez. And now, don’t take too far a lead off Sanchez, either.

Up Next

The Yankees go for the magnificent seven on Saturday in their next affair against the Rays. Masahiro Tanaka (12-4, 3.11 ERA) will be on the hill for the Yankees while Chris Archer (8-17, 4.06 ERA) will be on the bump for the Rays.

Photo: Adam Hunger / USA Today Sports

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