Thanks to the bat of Robinson Cano, in the 8th inning, the Yankees were victorious against their spring ball foe, by a score of 8-7. The game starting with the Yankee bats on fire. The Rays pitcher was on the losing end of some poor pitches to good batters and was taken yard three times in the first two innings, thanks to Damon, Rodriguez, and Ensburg.
It looked like the Yankees were taking command of this game early, but the Rays picked up a couple of runs throughout the game, up to a monstrous 7th inning where they scored 5 runs tying the game at 7. The pitching was not at its finest, but the Yankees came away with a nice victory today.
The big news was Derek Jeter’s return. He looked very comfortable, chomping down hard on his gum a couple of times, but nothing out of the ordinary. He hit a nice 2-run single to left center in the forth, and made real good contact on the ball.
That took the score to 7-1, and everything looked to be going the Yankees way, when the bullpen entered and things went the Tampa Bay way. They used the long ball to catch up and negate the lead that the Yankees had built, and tied the game at 7. Pinch hitter Cano enters and earns his paycheck today going deep for the go ahead run, and eventual game winning home run.
These are just the kind of games that the Yankees need to continue to win. The one run game, tied in the late innings, or a slug-fest. They have to build that confidence and know that somehow they will come away victorious. A good solid win today.
This win brings the Yankees back to .500 at 7-7. They look to take another one, and the series tomorrow, in this short 2 game stint.
