Yankees game 143: Heathcott the hero
It took the Yankees until the 9th to score and when they did, they did it to win it.
New York Yankees 4 – Tampa Bay Rays 1
The Yankees looked silenced but they spoke in the ninth and with authority.
After a scoreless first inning by CC Sabathia and the Rays' Erasmo Ramirez, the Yankees defense got sloppy in the second inning. After a strikeout of Logan Forsythe, Asdrubal Cabrera got on first base with a single against the shift. Then, on a soft single to the right side by Steven Souza Jr., Brendan Ryan accidentally kicked the ball away from himself when trying to make a play, allowing Cabrera to advance to third on the error. Richie Shaffer walked to load the bases with one out and CC Sabathia was in hot water that was mostly due to his defense. On a ground ball to Gregory Bird, the Yankees first baseman got the force out at home to keep the Rays off the board.
McCann could have made the attempt at a double play but dropped the ball. Fortunately, J.P. Arencibia flew out to left to strand the bases loaded and Sabathia was able to escape the jam.
Despite the rough second inning, CC Sabathia was cruising in what may have been his best start of the season. He retired eight in a row after the Souza single.
While CC Sabathia was holding down the Rays, Erasmo Ramirez silenced the Yankees bats. Through the first three innings, the Yankees were without a base runner. In the fourth inning, the Yankees got their first base runner when Alex Rodriguez walked but Brian McCann grounded out to keep them without a hit through four innings.
In the seventh inning, the Yankees got another base runner when Erasmo Ramirez walked Brett Gardner. He advanced to second base when Gardner stayed out of a double play in a hit-and-run. On a deep fly ball to right by Brian McCann, right fielder Mikie Mahtook took a leap and caught the ball just shy of the wall, surely robbing McCann of extra bases. On the fly ball, Gardner was caught far off of second base, anticipating the ball hitting the wall, and was doubled off of second base for an impressive defensive display thanks to poor baserunning.
CC Sabathia got into the seventh inning but after two outs, Richie Shaffer walked to end the night on the mound for the big lefty. Justin Wilson gave up a single to Kevin Kiermaier but struck out J.P. Arencibia to finish off the inning.
In 6 2/3 scoreless innings, CC Sabathia allowed three hits with two walks and struck out six.
The Yankees snapped the no-hit bid of Erasmo Ramirez when Carlos Beltran hit a rocket line drive in the eighth inning, deflected off the shoulder of first baseman Richie Shaffer. Ramirez got the next two outs before reliever Alex Colome finished the inning, maintaining the scoreless tie.
Wilson returned to the mound for the eighth inning and got two outs with a single between them. Unfortunately, Logan Forsythe hit a double to left field off the wall, just shy of a home run, that gave the Rays a one-run lead. Caleb Cotham finished the inning but the Yankees had three outs to get at least one run to tie the game.
Closer Brad Boxberger came in and gave up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Dustin Ackley. On the next pitch, the slumping Jacoby Ellsbury grounded to the first baseman to start a double play, dimming the hopes for the Yankees. Brett Gardner kept the inning alive with a four-pitch walk. He stole second during Alex Rodriguez's at-bat and Rodriguez came through with the important hit, a double to right center field to score Gardner from second base. After an intentional walk of Brian McCann, Slade Heathcott came to the plate. He came in as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning so this was his first at-bat.
On the first-pitch fastball, Slade Heathcott went the other way for a go-ahead, three-run home run. The home run was his second major league home run and it put the Yankees ahead, to the visible joy of the Yankees dugout.
Andrew Miller came on for the ninth inning and was lights out, striking out all three batters he faced for an exciting comeback win. Despite being held out of the hit column until the eighth inning, the Yankees got hits when they needed it the most.
Win – Caleb Cotham (1-0)
Loss – Brad Boxberger (4-10)
Notables
Yankees
*Slade Heathcott – 1 for 1, R, Three-run home run (2) in the 9th, 3 RBI (6)
*Alex Rodriguez – 1 for 3, BB, 2B, RBI (82)
Rays
*Logan Forsythe – 1 for 4, 2B, RBI (59)
*Mikie Mahtook – 1 for 4, R
Current Yankees Record: 78-64