ARLINGTON, Texas — Do you believe in miracles?!
Sorry, I'll have corporate write a check to Al Michaels. But to sit here last night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and see the Yankees overcome superior Texas, 5-4, you felt like the baseball gods decided to cut the Yankees a rare break.
"Biggest win of the year," Brett Gardner said, and you could understand why he said that.
Back-to-back extra-base hits by Melky Mesa and Austin Romine? Most nights, you would be more likely to see Ryan Braun issue personal apologies to every living Milwaukee citizen.
AP
THAT'S A WRAP: Mariano Rivera celebrates with Austin Romine after closing out the Yankees' comeback win.
A game-winning hit by Brent Lillibridge off an All-Star closer? Lillibridge is a far better candidate to contribute a game-losing error, as was nearly the case.
The offensively-starved Yankees tarnishing the Rangers' 51-0 record this season when taking a lead into the ninth inning? I could see them maybe tarnishing the visiting clubhouse by spilling some food on the carpet. Not so much ruining Joe Nathan's night, no matter how much success previous Yankees teams had against him.
But here they were, understandably joyous after this dramatic victory, having halted a two-game losing streak and lifted their record to 53-47.
"Great win," manager Joe Girardi said.
Sustainable win? Not in the least. This wasn't a formula to be duplicated. It was a night to be enjoyed by the team and fans for its unlikeliness.
Lillibridge, the Yankees' eighth third baseman of the season, committed a sixth-inning error on a Nelson Cruz grounder that seemed destined to doom the Yankees. It helped turn a 3-0 lead behind Phil Hughes into a 4-3 deficit as Mitch Moreland clubbed a go-ahead, two-run homer off lefty specialist Boone Logan.
That neutralized the stunning, two-run third that featured consecutive leadoff two-baggers from Mesa (his first career extra-base hit) and Romine (who is now hitting .165) and a run in the fourth by virtue of Vernon Wells' leadoff double and impressive advancement on Eduardo Nunez's flyout to center field and Lillibridge's grounder to a drawn-in Ian Kinsler at second base.
Brett Gardner helped keep the game close with a pair of outstanding catches in center field, and as it turned out, Wells, Nunez and Lillibridge all would play roles in the memorable ninth. Lillibridge received the opportunity for redemption only because Wells drew a one-out walk — Rangers fans were aghast that home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley didn't call more Nathan pitches for strikes — and Nunez crushed a game-tying triple to center field.
With the tying run in, Girardi opted to let Lillibridge hit rather than pinch-hit Travis Hafner for him. Lillibridge responded with a single to left, bringing in Nunez for the lead, and Mariano Rivera picked up his 32nd save — Rangers fans thought that Rivera benefited from Danley's generosity on a strikeout of Leonys Martin — and that was that.
"You come here as a new guy, you just want to make the plays and do your job, not make too many waves. Get yourself comfortable," Lillibridge said. "But it is what it is. I was able to make up for it. Big win."
A big win that doesn't change the reality that this team is simply not equipped to capture a postseason spot. Perhaps that would change if the Yankees complete their trade talks for the Cubs' Alfonso Soriano, which suffered a (likely temporary) setback upon The Post's reporting of the serious discussions, and benefit from the returns of Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter and maybe even Alex Rodriguez and Francisco Cervelli from the disabled list.
That's a lot of ifs, though. Probably too many in the ultra-competitive American League East.
These Yankees need more than one-off miracles to survive their current mess. They need proven players to come back and live up to their norms. Who figured that would be such a tall order?
kdavidoff@nypost.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment