Yankees blow a 6 run lead only to be bailed out by a pinch-hit home run in the 10th!
After cruising for 4+ innings to the tune of a 6-0 lead, the Yankees hit a big speed bump, with the Rays scoring 7 runs before the end of the frame to quickly take a 1 run lead. With Big Bat Cano continuing his monster year, the Yankees were able to tie the game up and force extra innings, free baseball for the fans if you will, to finally see themselves win a nail bitter, a feat that they have recently been unable to figure out.
With stellar pitching from the likes of Joba, Wood, Robertson, and of course, Mo, to go along with spectacular defensive plays by Golson and Granerson in the outfield, the Yankees were able to fight back, holding down the Ray’s explosive line up and taking the game and once again the ½ game lead in the division.
The frustrating thing about this game was how the Yankees handled the lead when they were up big. Blowing a 6-0 lead in one inning to your closest rival is not acceptable. Girardi appear to go against his better judgment (Bench Coach Pena had him leave in Nova for 1 extra batter) and next thing you know, the Rays, with one swing of the bat, are up a run. Frustrating? You bet! Tell me why Girardi would let the youngster stay in there when there are 3 lefties due up in a row and Boone Logan ready to go in the pen? At that time Logan had 25 consecutive appearances without giving up a run. Poor management? You bet. Something that the Yankees seem to experience more often than not.
On the verge of possibility suffering their 4th walk off win in the last 5 games, the Yankees got a much needed reprieve from Jorge, when, with none out in the 10th, he stepped up as a pinch hitter and sent Wheeler’s 2-0 offering way outta there! What a shot! Now with this win, hopefully the Yankees can come out of their recent funk (lost 7 out of past 9) and get on track for the playoffs. Their bullpen appears to be shaping up and with Andy due back on Sunday and AJ pitching like his old self, the rotation should start to click on all cylinders again.
My concerns now are simply, lack of timely hitting of late and poor management. Good for Girardi that he won the World Series last year, isn’t that expected with such a high profile team? He seriously needs to figure out what moves to make and when to make them before the only move he makes is getting off the couch during the playoffs to get something from the kitchen!
The Yankees are the team to beat, but only if they can keep their manager from beating them first!
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