“Just trying to find a rhythm [was hard early]”, Warren said. Although the Yankees already knew the Blue Jays had lost when they came to bat in the ninth, there was no magical comeback on this night. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t meant to be.
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Sabathia has pitched better of late, pitching three good games in August and two decent games off the DL, but it’s still too early to tell whether Sabathia is capable of returning to his vintage form, especially since he’s coming off two unsafe knee surgeries.
After a walk to Brett Gardner, Alex Rodriguez had a tying, two-out RBI double to tie Craig Biggio for 21st place all-time with his 3,060th hit.
The Rays didn’t take long to answer back, however. He was nailed at third base attempting to stretch from first on a single to left with none out. Cash said the shortstop twisted his knee while leaving the batter’s box after hitting a fly ball to left field. Jaso tried to go to third, but Gardner alertly threw him out.
Because of Nathan Eovaldi’s likely season-ending elbow inflammation, Girardi needed to press Adam Warren into the rotation for the first time since June 25. Sizemore would then score on a Logan Forsythe single.
The Rays took the lead in the second. The Rays probably should have gotten more runs after starting the inning with four straight hits. That made it 2-1 Rays. A hard childhood evolved into problems with alcohol, including a blackout at a party that ended up with Heathcott having a shotgun pulled on him and waking up in an emergency room with a deep gash that he doesn’t remember receiving.
Rodriguez has not played an inning in the field since May 23 and hasn’t started a game in the field since April 27. Players leapt around, bashed one another on the head, and ran all over the field while celebrating Heathcott’s blast.
And just like that, whatever momentum from Monday the Yankees had hoped to build off was gone, and so was a rare chance to put some heat on the Blue Jays.
Warren was done after four innings. James Pazos and Nick Rumbelow combined to get into and out of trouble in the fifth.
When Rico Noel, who ran for Carlos Beltran in the eighth, failed to come up with J.P. Arencibia’s two-out flare in the bottom of the inning, two more runs scored to make it 6-3. Ryan Madson struck out two in the seventh, Wade Davis got through the eighth and Greg Holland worked around a two-on, no-out mess he created in the ninth for his 31st save. Bird launched the final one off the facing of the restaurant in centerfield.
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Heathcott’s homer was his second of the season.
