Texas Rangers 1 – New York Yankees 2
After an exciting walk-off, the Yankees looked for the improbable split with the Texas Rangers.
Michael Pineda had a brief instance in which the first inning haunted him after quality starts entering today. After falling behind the first batter, Shin-Soo Choo, the Rangers right fielder took Pineda to right field for a leadoff home run to put the Yankees in an early one-run deficit.
Despite the home run, Michael Pineda settled in nicely. After the home run, Pineda struck out seven of the next eight he faced into the third inning. A.J. Griffin managed to match Pineda pitch-for-pitch without surrendering a run as he struck out five in a row entering the third inning of an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel.
Through four innings, Griffin managed to contain the bats but the Yankees struck in the fifth inning from a fan favorite for most of the season.
With one out, Didi Gregorius took a full count pitch to right field for a tying solo home run. Aaron Hicks got on base with a walk but was caught stealing for one of the three outs in the inning.
Pineda received some assistance in the outfield by Jacoby Ellsbury to come down wit ha deep fly ball to right center field but Pineda was dominant. He finished today’s start with two strikeouts and handed the tie game over to the dominant part of the Yankees bullpen.
In six innings, Michael Pineda allowed one run on two hits with three walks and 12 strikeouts.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Chase Headley got on base with a single and a pair of two out walks loaded the bases but Brett Gardner grounded out to second to end the inning.
Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman provided a scoreless inning in relief to keep the game tied entering the ninth inning. In the ninth inning, the Rangers sent Tony Barnette to the plate. Chase Headley led off with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Didi Gregorius. A walk of Aaron Hicks setup the double play but Starlin Castro grounded out to first to put two in scoring position. On a pitch through catcher Robinson Chirinos, Chase Headley sprinted to home and scored the walk-off win on a passed ball to split the four-game series.
Win – Aroldis Chapman (2-0)
Loss – Tony Barnette (5-3)
Notables
Rangers
*Shin-Soo Choo – 1 for 4, R, Solo home run (4) in the 1st, RBI (11)
*Adrian Beltre – 1 for 3, BB
Yankees
*Didi Gregorius – 1 for 3, R, Solo home run (8) in the 5th, RBI (36)
*Chase Headley – 1 for 3, R, BB
Current Yankees Record: 39-39
