“Stay in the process. Stay patient. Stay ready.” That’s the mindset that Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham has had these past few weeks, and it paid off in spades for him tonight as he drove in both Yankees runs and got the Yankees their first win since Saturday vs. Boston, and only the second this month. Grisham also recorded a clutch out in the bottom of the 8th on a fly ball by Yandy Diaz, getting Tommy Kahnle out of a jam with runners on the bases.
The pitching tonight, however, really dazzled despite a lot of traffic on the bases, with the lone run by the Rays scored on a 5th inning Yandy Diaz 5-4 RBI force ground out, allowed by starting pitcher Marcus Stroman.
Stroman said after the game that “the work ethic from every guy, the confidence, hasn’t changed one bit. It’s a long season, we play 162 games, so we’re going to go into skids like this. We’re definitely glad to get the win. It was a full team effort tonight.”
Stroman also gave kudos to the bullpen; Hill, Weaver, Kahnle and Homes combined to allow only 3 allowed hits tonight and 3 walks while striking out 6. The 5th inning is where things began to fall apart for Stroman. He allowed a single by former Yankee Ben Rortvedt, a single by Taylor Walls, which advanced Rortvedt to third base, the force ground out by Diaz, a single by Brandon Lowe and a walk by Isaac Paredes finished his night.
Hill came in with two runners on (Paredes at first and Lowe at second), where he threw a mix of sinker, slider and a four-seamer. Hill noted after the game that the slider is new and that he has been working on it with the coaching staff. He added that he’s enjoyed being with the Yankees, saying there are a lot of resources available and “that could be helpful for a lot of players”. Boone echoed what Stroman said, saying that “he’s thrown the ball really, really well for us.”
Boone said during the press conference that DJ LeMahieu, who was beaten up pretty badly with a hit-by-pitch on his pinky and a foul ball that ricocheted and hit him in his Adam’s apple area, is “100%”. Given that he’s only played 34 games of the 94 that the Yankees have played, LeMahieu may earn a rest day tomorrow ahead of the weekend series in Baltimore.
The Yankees and Rays play the rubber match tomorrow night at the Trop, with LHP Nestor Cortes starting for the Yankees and RHP Shane Baz starting for Tampa Bay. First pitch is scheduled for 6:50.
