09/17: Cervelli Delivers Walk-off vs. Jays
Posted by: Seamus
The fireworks from Wednesday night's game fortunately did NOT come in the form of fisticuffs, as all the excitement in this one came from a late-inning rally that culminated in another walk-off win for the Yankees. This time it was Francisco Cervelli who delivered the final blow, a base hit to left that scored Brett Gardner from third to give the Yankees a 5–4 victory over the Blue Jays.
The Yankees jumped ahead 2–0 early, but the Blue Jays tied the game with two runs in the third and went ahead on an RBI ground out from Rod Barajas in the top of the sixth. A sac fly by Adam Lind off of Phil Coke (run charged to Brian Bruney) in the seventh made it 4–2 Jays.
With the Yankees running out of outs and trying not to lose their fourth game in six days, the red-hot Hideki Matsui sent a pitch from Scott Downs into the right field seats for a game tying, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.
The game remained tied going into the bottom of the ninth after Mariano Rivera. Brett Gardner led the inning off with a base hit, which set up a rather predictable steal of second. Gardner was then moved over to third on a Derek Jeter groundout. That set the stage for Francisco Cervelli, who was able to deliver his first career walk-off RBI as he slapped a ground ball into left field to score Gardner from third.
The Red Sox came up with a late rally at Fenway against the Angels, but with the Rangers losing, the Yankees' magic number to clinch a postseason berth is now just 4.
The Yankees will have today off, just as they will every Thursday for the rest of the way. They'll be in Seattle on Friday to kick off a very late west coast trip agains the Mariners. A.J. Burnett and the Yankees will get a crack at the young Felix Hernandez, who is 15–5 this season with a 2.52 ERA and a WHIP of 1.15. Game starts at 10:10 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 45–23, Patrick: 38–19, Andrew: 11–11
The Yankees jumped ahead 2–0 early, but the Blue Jays tied the game with two runs in the third and went ahead on an RBI ground out from Rod Barajas in the top of the sixth. A sac fly by Adam Lind off of Phil Coke (run charged to Brian Bruney) in the seventh made it 4–2 Jays.
With the Yankees running out of outs and trying not to lose their fourth game in six days, the red-hot Hideki Matsui sent a pitch from Scott Downs into the right field seats for a game tying, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.
The game remained tied going into the bottom of the ninth after Mariano Rivera. Brett Gardner led the inning off with a base hit, which set up a rather predictable steal of second. Gardner was then moved over to third on a Derek Jeter groundout. That set the stage for Francisco Cervelli, who was able to deliver his first career walk-off RBI as he slapped a ground ball into left field to score Gardner from third.
The Red Sox came up with a late rally at Fenway against the Angels, but with the Rangers losing, the Yankees' magic number to clinch a postseason berth is now just 4.
The Yankees will have today off, just as they will every Thursday for the rest of the way. They'll be in Seattle on Friday to kick off a very late west coast trip agains the Mariners. A.J. Burnett and the Yankees will get a crack at the young Felix Hernandez, who is 15–5 this season with a 2.52 ERA and a WHIP of 1.15. Game starts at 10:10 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 45–23, Patrick: 38–19, Andrew: 11–11
