Yes, he did it again. Twice.
Gary Sanchez powered two more home runs, Nos. 18 and 19 on the season, to lead the Yankees to a 11-5 victory on Wednesday night. At this point there is not much more to say about Sanchez. Major League pitchers cannot seem to figure him out. And, when they do, Sanchez appears to be able to make quick, mid-game adjustments. Most people thought that he would be good. But this good? No one could have predicted this. The debate should be over, Gary Sanchez is your AL Rookie of the Year.
The Yankees, meanwhile, got a key victory by beating the Rays for the second time in as many days. They are now 79-72 on the season. Masahiro Tanaka picked up his 14th win of 2016 and after tonight he still leads the AL with a 3.07 ERA.
With 11 games remaining, the Yankees are back within 2.5 games of Baltimore Orioles for the second Wild Card. Gary Sanchez and the Yankees will look to sweep the Rays Thursday and continue their effort to catch the Orioles. By the way, the Yankees last three games of the season are at home against the Orioles. You never know, right?
The Play: El Gary Mashes his second home run
Top Performers
Yankees — Gary Sanchez: 3 for 4, 2 HRs, 5 RBI
Rays — Brad Miller: 2 for 4, 2 HRs
Notes
– Gary Sanchez is the fastest player in MLB history to hit 19 career HRs (45 games). On top of this, tonight was already his third career multi-HR game.
– Masahiro Tanaka allowed 4 HRs in the 3rd inning of tonights game. It was the first time in Tanaka’s career that he has allowed 4+ HRs in a game.
– The 4 HRs in an inning was also a Rays franchise record.
The highlight: El Gary Mashes Another Home Run 2.0
The Highlight: Donovan Solano goes yard
Up next
The Yankees will wrap up their series with the Rays Thursday night at 7:10 p.m. ET. Luis Cessa (4-2, 4.44 ERA) will face off against promising Rays rookie Blake Snell (5-8, 3.87 ERA).
Photo: Kim Klement / USA Today Sports