Yankees 6, Rays 5: Alfonso Soriano ripped a walk-off RBI single in the ninth inning and Derek Jeter homered in his first at-bat after coming off the disabled list as host New York salvaged the finale of a three-game series.
Brett Gardner walked to lead off the ninth and advanced to second on a wild pitch from Jake McGee (2-3). After Jeter was intentionally walked and Robinson Cano struck out, Soriano deposited a first-pitch fastball up the middle to plate Gardner and whip Yankee Stadium into a frenzy. Mariano Rivera (2-2) retired the side in the order in the ninth to pick up the win.
Soriano, who entered the game 0-for-8 since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs, belted a two-run homer to highlight his four-hit performance. Ichiro Suzuki added an RBI single in his 50th career four-hit game for New York, which won for the third time in eight contests.
Rookie Wil Myers launched two homers - a three-run shot in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to nine games before forging a 5-5 tie by leading off the fifth with another blast. Kelly Johnson added an RBI double for the Rays, who fell for just the fourth time in 25 outings.
Jeter wasted little time making an impact, depositing a first-pitch fastball from Matt Moore into the first row in right-center field to highlight a three-run first inning. The blast ended the Yankees' nine-game homerless drought and was the team's first from the right side of the plate since Jayson Nix went deep on June 25.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Activated off the disabled list, Jeter played in one contest on July 11 after returning from offseason surgery on his left ankle - only to strain his right quadriceps. ... Tampa Bay 3B Evan Longoria went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. ... New York signed veteran Hideki Matsui to a one-day minor-league contract. The 2009 World Series MVP was honored with a video montage before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
Tampa Bay | NY Yankees | |
Matt Moore | Player | Phil Hughes |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
5.0 | IP | 4.0 |
3 | Strikeouts | 4 |
8 | Hits | 9 |
9.00 | ERA | 11.25 |
Tampa Bay | NY Yankees | |
Wil Myers | Player | Ichiro Suzuki |
2 | Hits | 4 |
4 | RBI | 1 |
2 | HR | 0 |
8 | TB | 4 |
.500 | Avg | 1.000 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Tampa Bay | 10 | 2 | 17 | .270 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
NY Yankees | 12 | 2 | 19 | .343 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |