New York Yankees 6 — Atlanta Braves 4
Alex Rodriguez begins the comeback rally in tonight’s 6-4 win over the Atlanta Braves.
Recently, CC Sabathia can be considered the weakest member of the starting rotation. Despite giving up 4 runs and 10 hits allowed, this outing was not a bad outing. 3 of the 4 runs allowed by Sabathia were in the 1st inning and the other run scored on an out in the 7th inning, his final inning of work. A noticeable quality of Sabathia is that when he’s not on the top of his game, he grinds out the start and gets innings. This was another outing that was not ideal of the ace of a pitching staff as he seemed to always be behind in the count. The bullpen came out as solid as they have been all season as Clay Rapada held the eventual lead and Rafael Soriano sealed the door shut with a perfect 9th inning.
When you look at the Yankees box score, many fans would not be able to predict what would happen, but then again baseball is hardly ever predictable. In 7.1 innings of work, starting pitcher Mike Minor, entering with an ERA above 6, gave up just 1 run and held the Yankees off the scoreboard. The Braves turned to one of the best relievers in the game, Jonny Venters, for the final 2 outs of the 8th inning. A single and a walk loaded the bases as Venters inherited one of Minor’s runners. Alex Rodriguez took a 3-2 pitch and hit a screaming line drive into the first row in left field for a game-tying grand slam. This grand slam was his 23rd career grand slam tying him with Lou Gehrig for all-time grand slams. This grand slam brought the Yankees offense to life as Robinson Cano proceeded to get a single and Nick Swisher completed the rally with a bang as he hit a home run to right field to give the Yankees a lead in a 6-run 8th inning.
This win with the Tampa Bay Rays loss gives the Yankees sole possession of 1st place in the American League East division.
Win – CC Sabathia (8-3)
Loss – Jonny Venters (3-3)
Save – Rafael Soriano (10)
Notable
Yankees
*Alex Rodriguez – 1 for 5, R, Grand Slam (10) in the 8th, 4 RBI (29)
*Nick Swisher – 2 for 4, R, 2B, 2-Run Home Run (10) in the 8th, 2 RBI (39)
Braves
*Matt Diaz – 1 for 3, 2B, 3 RBI (12)
*Brian McCann – 2 for 5, R, 2 2B
Current Yankees Record: 36-25
Ryan Nakada
