The victory moved the Yankees to 20.5 games in front of the Red Sox, and helped them become the earliest team in American League history to clinch a playoff birth.
Advertisement
The crew pulled a run off the board by overturning a balk call against Holder, and then Tyler Austin homered in the ninth to lift NY over the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Thursday night. “It makes you feel a lot younger and they’ve been a joy to have around”.
Brad Boxberger worked a ideal eighth against the 3-4-5 hitters in New York’s lineup, and Alex Colome got three quick outs for his 32nd save in 34 attempts. The 27-year-old Japan native overcame three walks, a staggering number considering he issued just one free pass over his previous six contests. “So in that sense you want to go out there and pitch a really good game”. Still getting them, but I’m trying not to think about that today.
Sanchez homered and almost launched another as Tampa Bay messed up an intentional walk, leading the hard-charging Yankees to their season-best seventh straight win, 5-1 over the Rays on Saturday.
“Just play for each other right now”.
With a runner on third and one down, Evan Longoria rocketed a liner to right that Refsnyder nabbed after making a couple of quick steps to his left and in.
Souza and Bobby Wilson had run-scoring singles in the sixth. Tanaka hit the jersey of the next batter and Girardi went to his bullpen, sending Tanaka off the field to a standing ovation. Austin’s blast gave the Yankees their fifth walk-off win and occurred on a night when Adam Warren, Tyler Clippard and closer Dellin Betances were unavailable.
When Tanaka was handed his last loss, it was the day before Sanchez was called up and the Yankees were 53-53.
PHILLIES 4, NATIONALS 1: Ryan Howard hit a three-run homer and, Alec Asher pitched six innings of two-hit ball coming off a suspension for Philadelphia.
HIT MAN: Kiermaier extended his career-high hitting streak to 13 games with an infield single.
New York Yankees’ Gary Sanchez flips his bat after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, at Yankee Stadium in New York. Morrison sent a 1-1 fastball into a suite above the second deck in right and Souza followed by lining a first-pitch breaking ball down the left field line.Following a 21-minute rain delay, Teixeira made it 7-2 when he sent a 1-1 fastball from Kevin Jepsen into the NY bullpen beyond the right-center field wall.NOTES: Friday marked the one-year anniversary of 1B Tyler Austin getting sent outright to Double-A Trenton after being designated for assignment off the 40-man roster.
Girardi on Tanaka pitching into the eighth: “I didn’t expect he would get that far”. “I felt we did a lot of things right”. But Romero’s first pitch floated toward the strike zone at 52 miles per hour and Sanchez pounced, mashing it roughly 400 feet to the warning track in center field, leaving just enough room for Mikie Mahtook to make the catch before Brett Gardner scored on the sac fly.
“It’s a great job by Gary Sanchez to be ready to hit there”, Girardi said.
The Rays will look to avoid being swept by the Yankees on Sunday afternoon.
Give him one more day from having to throw, ” manager Kevin Cash said.
In the eighth, the Yankees scored twice on sacrifice flies by Sanchez and Didi Gregorius.
Archer (8-18) tied Tanyon Sturtze’s 2002 team record for losses by allowing three runs and four hits in seven innings.
“He was outstanding”, Cash said. Duffy will be in a split and on crutches for 2½ weeks, then in a boot for two months, but is expected to be fully recovered for the start of spring training.
Advertisement
Tonight, the Yankees send Michael Pineda to the mound in hopes to tuck another win under their belt. The others were Pat Zachary for the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 4, 1984 versus Cincinnati and Walter Anderson with the Philadelphia Athletics against the Chicago White Sox on May 14, 1917.
