Twice As Nice As Brett Gardner Singles To Beat Tampa Bay
Veteran left-fielder Brett Gardner was the hero not once but twice for New York in the series.
Who would have expected him to be the hero in game three as New York once again took down Tampa Bay for the third time in the series?
Brett Gardner's walk-off single in the ninth gave the Yankees a 5-4 win over the Rays on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. It was Gardner's second game-winning hit of this four-game series for the Yankees (56-46), who have won six in a row and maintained their position in first place in the American League East. The third-place Rays (53-52) lost their third straight to fall to 4 1/2 games behind New York. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/245166920/brett-gardner-yankees-walk-off-against-rays/
Chase Headley, who delivered a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the sixth, drew a leadoff walk from Brad Boxberger to start the ninth. Jacoby Ellsbury pinch-ran for Headley and promptly stole second before Boxberger hit Todd Frazier to put runners at first and second. Ronald Torreyesthen bunted between third base and the pitcher, and Boxberger couldn't make a play, allowing Torreyes to reach with an infield single that loaded the bases with no outs. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/245166920/brett-gardner-yankees-walk-off-against-rays/
Rays manager Kevin Cash lifted Boxberger at that point and brought in left-hander Dan Jennings to pitch to Gardner, who was the hero of Thursday night's game with a walk-off home run in the 11th inning. And he came through again, with a single through the middle of the Rays' drawn-in infield to score Ellsbury with the winning run. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/245166920/brett-gardner-yankees-walk-off-against-rays/
The Rays took an immediate lead when Peter Bourjos homered off Caleb Smith to open the game. The veteran outfielder connected on a 1-0 pitch for his second career leadoff home run.Steven Souza Jr. added a solo home run off Adam Warren in the fifth, and Lucas Duda homered off David Robertson in the eighth to tie the score at 4. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/245166920/brett-gardner-yankees-walk-off-against-rays/
Gary Sanchez homered off Blake Snell in the fourth, and Headley hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer off Sergio Romo in the sixth to give the Yankees their first lead of the day at 4-3. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/245166920/brett-gardner-yankees-walk-off-against-rays/
Headley pinch-hit for Garrett Cooper with one out in the sixth when Romo took over from Snell. The infielder had gone 124 at-bats without a home run before connecting on an 86-mph fastball and driving the ball over the left-field wall, giving Headley his fifth home run of the season and just his second opposite-field one as a lefty since joining the Yankees in 2014. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/245166920/brett-gardner-yankees-walk-off-against-rays/
With the potential go-ahead run on third base with two outs in the ninth, Aroldis Chapman threw the fastest pitch recorded by Statcast™ this season in his first career matchup with Evan Longoria. The pitch was clocked at 103.5 mph, which Longoria fouled off. Chapman followed up with another fastball at 102.5 mph to get Longoria to pop out to Headley and end the inning. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/245166920/brett-gardner-yankees-walk-off-against-rays/
New York improves to 56-46 and is in first place in the American League East while their rival Boston is 0.5 games back. Meanwhile Tampa Bay drops to 53-52 on the season and is 4.5 games back of New York with the loss.
New York will look to take the series from Tampa Bay in the series finale. New York left -hander Jordan Montgomery who has a record of 7-5 with a 3.92 earn run average will get the start. Montgomery carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning in his most recent start on Tuesday. He was removed with two outs in the seventh inning after just 85 pitches, allowing one run, two hits while striking out six. He will go up against Tampa Bay right -hander Jacob Faria who has a record of 5-1 with a 2.67 earn run average. Faria has pitched well since being recalled from Triple -A Durham on June 7th. He's had quality starts in eight of nine starts. He's coming off his longest stint, 7 1/3 innings against the Orioles Monday. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/rays-vs-yankees/2017/07/30/491671#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=491671
First pitch is set for 1:05 pm. The game will be televised on Yes. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/rays-vs-yankees/2017/07/30/491671#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=491671