Arod Grand Slam lifts #Yankees

Yanks Win Again on A-Rod’s Grand Slam

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- The Yankees won their 11th game in the last 15. 

The Yankees are currently in first place in the American League East and 14 games above .500 (66-52). The bulk of this positive mark has come at Yankee Stadium, where they have compiled a record of 34-21. The Yankees have played the fewest number of home games in the majors. Thus, 26 of their remaining 44 games will be played at Yankee Stadium, which should prove to be a huge advantage to the club.

Although veteran hurler CC Sabathia has only won one of his 11 most recent starts, his pitching early in the contest looked extremely impressive. He retired the first 13 batters he faced before issuing a walk to Trevor Plouffe. Two batters later, Twins shortstop Eduardo Escobar singled to end Sabathia’s bid for a no hitter. The experienced hurler credited “working both sides of the plate and his fastball” for the early success. 

The Twins scored their first run in the fifth, but Sabathia’s performance worsened as his pitch count rose. He gave up three more runs in the seventh before departing from the game with two out in that inning. He only yielded five hits including a home run to rookie Miguel Sano off a change-up in his final frame. 

The Twins’ three runs in the seventh broke a 1-1 tie. The Yankees took the deciding lead in the bottom of the same inning. A single by Chase Headley and walks to Brendan Ryan and Brett Gardner loaded the bases. Alex Rodriguez, never out of the public eye, lifted a 95 mph fast ball into the seats for his 25th home run of the season and his major league record 25th grand slam. The grand slam gave the Yanks an advantage that was not overturned. 

Rodriguez commented on the critical play, “I wanted to get a good pitch and a good swing. This club has been carrying me for two weeks.” The home run came after Rodriguez’s streak of 1 for 27 at bats. 

The rousing reaction of the fans led to a curtain call. Rodriguez spoke of that after the game, “I thought these curtain calls were thing of the past.” 

The torrid hitting of the Yanks did not end after A-Rod’s home run. Four Yankee singles in the eighth accounted for three additional runs that raised the final score to 8-4. Five Yankees had multi-hit games, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Greg Bird, who had his first RBI in the majors in the fourth, and Chase Headley. 

The Yankees hope to sweep the twins after a Wednesday matinee. They then remain home for another week with four games with the Cleveland and three with Houston.

#Yankees #ARod #GrandSlam