In a tough AL East battle, the New York Yankees (90–50) took on the third place Tampa Bay Rays (72–67) Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium and hung on for a dramatic 3–2 victory after Nick Swisher saved the day with a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Coming into the game, the backdrop to this night was, of course, Derek Jeter’s race to tie Lou Gehrig’s all-time Yankees hits record. But fans would have to wait another night to see Jeter make his mark as he had a tough night going 0–4.
On the mound for the Yankees was Chad Goudin, who pitched a brilliant game after making only his third start for the team. He faced off against Tampa Bay’s David Price.
Instead of witnessing history unfold, fans were treated to a classic pitchers duel between Goudin and Price that stretched late into the game.
The Yankees were the first to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning after Swisher belted a towering home run deep into left field.
After three scoreless innings, things got exciting again for the Yanks in the bottom of the sixth as Alex Rodriguez hit a line drive that sent Mark Teixeira to second base and drove in Johnny Damon for a 2–0 lead.
Tampa Bay struck back at the top of the seventh after Evan Longoria took a Goudin fastball and homered into deep left, cutting the score to 2–1. For Longoria it was his 30th homerun of the year.
In the top of the eighth, Phil Hughes came into the game for the Yankees and gave up a crushing home run to Jason Bartlett, tying the game. For the usually steady Hughes, it was not the way he wanted to relieve Goudin, who left the game after a strong performance.
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera entered the game at the top of the ninth in relief of Hughes and retired all three batters.
The stage was now set for Swisher.
With the game tied in the bottom of the inning, Swisher lined a ball off Rays relief pitcher Dan Wheeler out of the park for the game-winning homerun, sending Yankee Stadium into absolute bedlam.
Swisher, with 26 home run and 77 RBIs, has quickly become a fan favorite.
Despite giving up the homerun in the seventh inning, Chad Goudin was also one of the Yankees stars of the night with six strike outs and a heads up defensive play in which he picked off Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford in the top of the sixth. It was his best performance as a Yankee.
After the game, in an interview with WFAN, a smiling Goudin reflected on what it’s like to be a part of the Yankees experience this year, “I want to keep it going, I’ve never seen walk offs like this. It’s so exciting to be a part of this.”
For the AL East leading Yankees, it was their 13th walk off win this year. They are 39–13 since the All-Star break and are 40 games over .500. If the Yankees win 10 out of their 22 remaining games they will hit 100 wins this season.
Coming into the game, the backdrop to this night was, of course, Derek Jeter’s race to tie Lou Gehrig’s all-time Yankees hits record. But fans would have to wait another night to see Jeter make his mark as he had a tough night going 0–4.
On the mound for the Yankees was Chad Goudin, who pitched a brilliant game after making only his third start for the team. He faced off against Tampa Bay’s David Price.
Instead of witnessing history unfold, fans were treated to a classic pitchers duel between Goudin and Price that stretched late into the game.
The Yankees were the first to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning after Swisher belted a towering home run deep into left field.
After three scoreless innings, things got exciting again for the Yanks in the bottom of the sixth as Alex Rodriguez hit a line drive that sent Mark Teixeira to second base and drove in Johnny Damon for a 2–0 lead.
Tampa Bay struck back at the top of the seventh after Evan Longoria took a Goudin fastball and homered into deep left, cutting the score to 2–1. For Longoria it was his 30th homerun of the year.
In the top of the eighth, Phil Hughes came into the game for the Yankees and gave up a crushing home run to Jason Bartlett, tying the game. For the usually steady Hughes, it was not the way he wanted to relieve Goudin, who left the game after a strong performance.
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera entered the game at the top of the ninth in relief of Hughes and retired all three batters.
The stage was now set for Swisher.
With the game tied in the bottom of the inning, Swisher lined a ball off Rays relief pitcher Dan Wheeler out of the park for the game-winning homerun, sending Yankee Stadium into absolute bedlam.
Swisher, with 26 home run and 77 RBIs, has quickly become a fan favorite.
Despite giving up the homerun in the seventh inning, Chad Goudin was also one of the Yankees stars of the night with six strike outs and a heads up defensive play in which he picked off Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford in the top of the sixth. It was his best performance as a Yankee.
After the game, in an interview with WFAN, a smiling Goudin reflected on what it’s like to be a part of the Yankees experience this year, “I want to keep it going, I’ve never seen walk offs like this. It’s so exciting to be a part of this.”
For the AL East leading Yankees, it was their 13th walk off win this year. They are 39–13 since the All-Star break and are 40 games over .500. If the Yankees win 10 out of their 22 remaining games they will hit 100 wins this season.
