I feel like it’s been a long time since the Yankees had a game like this, a game in which both the hard-hit and weak-hit balls fell in for hits. Thanks to the bullpen, New York rallied to erase an early four-run deficit and beat the Rays by the score of 8-5 on Wednesday night.
One Out
I don’t think Chris Capuano could have gotten anyone out on Wednesdayeven if the hitters were blindfolded. He had nothing — less than nothing, really — en route to allowing four runs in one-third of an inning. Yes, Mark Teixeira and Stephen Drew combined to miss a foul pop-up to start the game — Teixeira over-ran it, Drew didn’t get there in time — and Ben Zobrist took advantage of the extra out by leading off the game with the single, but that hardly matters. Capuano was fooling no one.
Following Zobrist’s single, Capuano struck out Brandon Guyer, walked Evan Longoria after getting ahead in the count 0-2, allowed a one-run double to Wil Myers, walked James Loney, then allowed one-run singles to Yunel Escobar and Logan Forsythe. That’s it. Chase Whitley came out of the bullpen to allow a sacrifice fly to Ryan Hanigan for Tampa’s fourth run. Four hits, two walks, four runs, one out. Capuano threw 36 pitches, eight of which were fouled off to extend at-bats. He has now allowed 18 runs in his last 22.1 innings. Ewww.
Six Unanswered Runs
It’s hard not to be discouraged when your team falls behind 4-0 before they get a chance to hit, but the Yankees shook it off and rallied to score six (!) unanswered runs from the first through fifth innings. Brian McCann started the scoring with a first inning solo homer, then he kept it going with a two-run single in the third. Chris Young (single, stolen base) and Jacoby Ellsbury (single, stolen base) set those two runs up in the third.
The game-tying fourth run was another solo homer, this one off Young’s bat. How about that? The Mets cast-off and Yankees September call-up was pushed into the lineup by the Brett Gardner’s abdominal strain, and he helped create two runs in the span of two innings. The next two runs took an act of the baseball gods — McCann scored from first on a Teixeira triple. Think how absurd that is. McCann was hit by a pitch, then Teixeira ripped a line drive into the right field corner. Myers kicked it around a bit, allowing McCann to score and Teixeira to get to third. It could have easily been ruled an error and double, but the official scorer was feeling generous and gave Teixeira a hit. It was his sixth triple in pinstripes.
The triple gave the Yankees the lead for the first time in the game, and Chase Headley extended that lead to 6-4 with a run-scoring single to plate Teixeira. I’m not sure how in the world to look this up, but I think it’s safe to say the Yankees haven’t scored six unanswered runs many times this year. That’s tough to do in general. Nevermind when you have one of the lowest scoring offenses in the league. Great job by the offense chipping away and rallying to get back in the game.
Big Time Bullpen
Know who else did a great job? The bullpen. Capuano was done one out into the game and the duo of Whitley (2.2 innings) and Preston Claiborne (two innings) kept the Rays off the board and not only gave the offense a chance to get back into the game, but also allowed Joe Girardi to not go to his late-inning relievers earlier than he would have liked. Whitley and Claiborne allowed just three hits and a walk in their 4.2 shutout innings.
Once the Yankees had the lead, Girardi went to Adam Warren, who looks like he’s gotten a second wind. His last three or four outings have been very good. He held Tampa to two singles — one was erased on a ground ball double play — in 1.2 innings before giving way to Dellin Betances, who got the final out of the seventh inning after allowing a broken bat single to Loney. The Yankees just can’t get that guy out. Betances jams him with high-90s gas, breaks his bat, and it still falls in. Argh.
Anyway, Betances struck out one in a perfect eighth inning and Esmil Rogers allowed a solo homer in the ninth after the Yankees tacked on some insurance runs. (The homer ended the bullpen’s 29-inning scoreless streak.) All told, five relievers combined to hold the Rays to one run on seven hits and one walk in 8.2 innings. It’s usually very bad news when you need your bullpen to get 26 outs, even after rosters expand, but those five guys did an excellent job in this game. Whitley and Claiborne deserve a ton of credit for holding down the fort in the early innings.
Leftovers
Headley (single), Ichiro Suzuki (bloop double misplayed by the outfielders), and Young (line drive double) combined for the team’s seventh and eighth runs in the eighth inning, so it was really eight unanswered runs, not six. McCann, Teixeira, and Headley collectively went 5-for-9 with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, a triple, and a homer as the three, four, and five hitters. Nice to see the middle of the order do something.
Ellsbury and Jeter went a combined 0-for-8 with a walk. Pretty amazing they still managed to score eight runs with the top two hitters in the lineup doing that. Young went 3-for-4 and was a triple away from the cycle. Considering they signed him off the scrap heap and are paying him the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for a month, Young justified his signing with this one game. That’s all it takes when a player comes that cheaply.
Know who had an unlucky night at the plate? Brendan Ryan. He hit four balls right on the screws and all four were right at defenders, one to left field and three to third base. Ryan had some great swings on Wednesday night and was left with nothing to show for it. Sucks.
Believe it or not, this was the first time all season the Yankees rallied to win a game after being down four runs at one point. In fact, it was the first time they came back to win after being down four runs since 2012. They didn’t do it last season at all.
Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings
For the box score and video highlights, head over to MLB.com. FanGraphs has a bunch of other game stats and ESPN is the place to go for the updated standings. Depending on the outcome of the late game, the Yankees will be either 4.5 games (Mariners lose) or 5.5 games (Mariners win) back of the second wildcard spot with 19 games to play. FanGraphs has their postseason odds at 1.0% at this very moment.
Source: FanGraphs
Up Next
The Yankees and Rays will wrap up this three-game series on Thursday night. Michael Pineda and Alex Cobb will be on the mound in the rubber game. Check out RAB Tickets if you want to catch the final game of the homestand. There are only nine home games left in the season (and Jeter’s career), you know.
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