Another day, another George Lombard Jr. home run. The big one tonight was a pivotal go-ahead two-run shot to lead the way on a Yankees comeback win over the Rays by a score of 6-4. And it was no cheapie, going all the way out to the second deck in left field, 400 feet away.
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After sleepwalking through the first five innings, the Yankees’ offense turned it on in the second half of this game, scoring six unanswered runs, led by an impressive display of athleticism and power from their shortstop—Lombard doubled, homered, secured three RBI, and performed the slide of the season to score a run in the seventh.
Before the exciting comeback, though, this game revolved around Cam Schlittler, who came into it leaning even more heavily on the four-seamer than usual. The first four pitches that Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Díaz saw were all four-seamers and in line with what we’d get in this game; he fouled off the first three. A flurry of foul balls led the Yankees to ultimately pull Schlittler after just three innings—three stressful innings with a surprising 70 pitches, more than enough for Aaron Boone to exercise caution.
Pitching, among other things, to keep his ERA under 2.00, quite literally the achievement of a lifetime, Schlittler ran into his first problem in the second. With two on and one out after a bloop single, the future AL Cy Young Award winner threw his own caution to the wind and threw three consecutive heaters all down the pipe to Ryan Vilade, who swung through a pair after letting the first one go by. Even poorly located Schlittler heaters can easily bully some hitters, and that’s precisely what was on display.
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In the third, though, the Rays broke through, with a little help from the Yankees’ defense, a recurring theme in tonight’s game. Taylor Walls worked a long walk against Schlittler to begin the inning and would have gone to third on a Díaz single, but an errant throw from Heliot Ramos allowed him to score. Junior Caminero, who has been held in check by Yankee pitching all year long, got a rare win, making it 2-0 with an RBI knock as Díaz also moved into scoring position following the error.
Ordinarily, the two runs and a hook after three would’ve meant that Schlittler’s ERA would end the year above 2.00. But because Schlittler got the next two outs after Caminero’s single, the second run turned into an unearned one, leaving his ERA at 1.95 — one of just four starter seasons in Yankees history below 2.00 and the first since the incredible Ron Guidry in 1978.
Michael Fulmer was the first man out of the Yankees bullpen and ran into the same problem that Schlittler did, as Caminero upped the Rays’ lead to 3-0 with an RBI double off the wall. It’s better to have him get this out of his system here before the playoffs than have it burst through then. Tim Hill replaced Fulmer in the middle of the fourth and proceeded to load the bases and work around that, retiring Jonny DeLuca with a force play at the plate and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson.
With just three from Schlittler, the Yankees would need someone to provide length, and the choice was Luis Gil, who played a negative role in yet another defensive misplay that allowed the Rays to make it 4-0. A potential double-play ball with one out fell through as Lombard couldn’t hit Gil in stride—Gil got the error, but the whole play could’ve been executed better from Rice to Lombard. Vilade, who was going from second to third, took advantage of this misplay and crossed the plate.
Through the first half of the game, there was nothing to say about the Yankees’ offense, dead silent against Ian Seymour without even an overpowering angle to address. Attacking the zone, the southpaw Seymour kept inducing quick outs, needing fewer than 60 pitches to complete five scoreless innings with just one hit allowed.
When the Rays pulled him, the Yankees were glad to face anyone else, and that first showed with an Austin Wells solo shot in the sixth off Jake Woodford. They could’ve added one more to up the pressure on the Rays, but Cody Bellinger and Ramos stranded a runner in scoring position. The second run against Woodford would come an inning later on a ringing double from Lombard to drive in Rice, whose most impressive feats were yet to come.
Back-to-back wild pitches by Brody Hopkins allowed Lombard to come to the plate. The second of those went straight back to the Rays’ catcher, and Lombard was dead to rights, but a Houdini slide kept him safe, eluding the tag by halting his slide and jumping over it. Any written description does not do it justice.
Applying the pressure against a clearly rattled Hopkins, the Yankees performed a double steal to put two in scoring position with one out. Following a force-out at the plate, Paul Goldschmidt tied the game with an RBI knock to complete the three-run seventh.
An inning later, the comeback was completed thanks to Lombard’s two-run shot off Steven Matz, and although that’ll steal the highlights, we mustn’t forget the bullpen’s work to keep the Rays at four. Gil allowed only one unearned run despite four walks in two innings, and Bradley Hanner was terrific covering the final two.
Tune in tomorrow for a twin bill against the Orioles, as the Yankees have bumped Saturday’s game up to avoid a storm. They have not yet announced who will be starting, but lefty Trevor Rogers has the ball for Baltimore in Game 1 at 4:05pm ETand Brandon Young gets the nightcap. Also make sure to check out CC Sabathia’s number retirement! It’ll be a great day for the big guy.
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