Trent Grisham drove in two runs and made a great running catch in center field to help the struggling New York Yankees defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 on Wednesday night. It was only the Yankees’ seventh win in 24 games.
Relievers Tim Hill (3-0) and Luke Weaver both worked out of tough situations to protect the Yankees’ narrow lead. All-Star closer Clay Holmes came in to rescue the Yankees from another tight spot in the eighth inning, as the Rays went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.
Holmes earned his 20th save of the season and his first since June 9, despite having missed out on two earlier chances. Leading up to this game, Yankees pitchers had given up home runs in seven consecutive games and in 18 out of 19 games.
“That was a great job of bending but not breaking, like playing a nickel defense. Just outstanding,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “There were a lot of big moments in that game, especially considering what we’ve been going through, and guys just kept coming through.”
Grisham’s crucial catch came in the eighth inning when he chased down Yandy Díaz’s hit that could have been troublesome for the Yankees.
The Yankees had a superb record of 50-22 through June 14, the best in the major leagues, but they have struggled since then, going 6-16 and falling out of first place in the AL East. Despite this rough stretch, the Yankees are only two games behind first-place Baltimore going into the series finale on Thursday at Tropicana Field.
The Yankees will start a three-game series against their division rivals in Baltimore on Friday.
“Every guy has maintained their work ethic, and our confidence hasn’t wavered one bit,” said Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman. “We knew there would be tough times, but it’s great to get this win. It was a complete team effort tonight. The bullpen was outstanding, and Grisham made big plays on both defense and offense.”
To spark the team’s struggling offense, Boone moved Ben Rice, who had been hitting well, into the cleanup spot after the rookie hit four home runs in his last three games while batting leadoff.
