Brett Gardner Goes Yard In The 9th As New York Shocks Chicago In Aroldis Chapman, Adam Warren's Return To Wrigley Field

The first game of a three -game set between Chicago and New York went to the last out before the winner was decided Friday  as Aroldis Chapman and Adam Warren returned to Wrigley Field to not only play against their former team but to also collect their hardware to celebrate Chicago's World Series championship in 2016. 

Left fielder Brett Gardner was the hero as Chicago welcomed Starlin Castro, Aroldis Chapman, and Adam Warren back to Wrigley Field with video tributes and hugs on Friday, but Brett Gardner gave the Yankees something to celebrate as he hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Hector Rondon to lift the Yankees to a 3-2 Interleague win over the Cubs. Chapman, a hero in the World Series last fall for the Cubs, pitched the ninth for the save. ." according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/228409596/brett-gardners-homer-powers-yanks-past-cubs/

Brett Gardner had this to say about the team. "I think we've just got a resilient group of guys," Gardner said. "We love to win and we hate to lose. I think that's important. We established that early on, even in Spring Training. Sometimes that doesn't carry over into the regular season, but for us, it has so far. Hopefully, we can keep it up." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/228409596/brett-gardners-homer-powers-yanks-past-cubs/

This was Starlin Castro's first game at Wrigley since he was traded to New York after the 2015 season, and he heard his walk-up music one more time. It also was the first chance Cubs executives had to present Chapman and Warren with their World Series rings for their contributions last year. Girardi has been back to Wrigley since his playing days, so his return was more low key. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/228409596/brett-gardners-homer-powers-yanks-past-cubs/

Starlin Castro said this to say about his return."I think it's a really emotional day for me to come back here," Castro said, "and to play against the team that gave me my first opportunity to be a baseball player. I feel happy to get here and compete against them." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/228409596/brett-gardners-homer-powers-yanks-past-cubs/

New York improved to 18-9 while Chicago dropped to 16-13 on the season. As for Chicago's offense, they were led by Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber. 

Kris Bryant lined a 1-1 pitch from Yankees starter Michael Pineda into the right-field bleachers in the first for his sixth home run. It was a rare opposite-field shot for Bryant, who hit only one of his 39 homers last season to right field. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/228409596/brett-gardners-homer-powers-yanks-past-cubs/

Schwarber led off the sixth with his fifth homer of the year, launching the first pitch from Pineda into the right-field seats as well. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/228409596/brett-gardners-homer-powers-yanks-past-cubs/

New York and Chicago will resume their three-game series Saturday at Wrigley Field when rookie left-hand pitcher  Jordan Montgomery takes the mound for Chicago. Jordan Montgomery kept New York in the game against Baltimore his last time out giving up three runs while pitching five innings. He has talked about providing more distance. He has completed just six innings in two of his major league starts and has a record of 1-1 with a 4.15 earn run average to go along with twenty-three strikeouts. He will face Chicago Cubs left  -hander Brett Anderson who has a record of 2-1 with a 6.23 earn run average with fifteen strikeouts. In his last outing, he had to deal with rain and the wind and only lasted 1/1/3 innings while giving up seven runs on seven hits. He has made five starts against New York, This will be his first since May 31,  2011. "according to  https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-cubs/2017/05/06/490553#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=490553

First pitch is set for 7:15 pm. The game will be televised on Fox. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-cubs/2017/05/06/490553#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=490553