The New York Yankees got back to their winning ways on Wednesday night, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 to take a one game lead in the AL East over the Orioles. Baltimore lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4.
"It's a break we got," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi according to the Associated Press. "Hopefully (the victory) just propels us to play good baseball."
The Yankees were only 5-11 in the past 16 games and squandered a 10-game division lead, dropping into a tie with the Orioles. They now sit alone in first place after Baltimore's loss.
Girardi called a team meeting before Wednesday's game, although he didn't offer any details on what was said. The team responded by emerging victorious against a division rival.
The game was tied 4-4 when shortstop Derek Jeter hit a grounder to Eliot Johnson. He threw home on a fielder's choice but missed his target wide, allowing Ichiro Suzuki and Steve Pearce to score and Jeter to advance to second base. The error was the break that the Yankees needed.
In the sixth inning struggling catcher Russell martin hit a home run to put the Yankees up 4-3, but Tampa tied the game the next inning after a solo shot from Luke Scott. Martin has had offensive troubles all year and is only hitting .202.
Alex Rodriguez was in the lineup again since returning from injury three games ago and was 1-4 with an RBI double in the fourth inning. The Yankees will need A-Rod to produce over the next 25 games if they hope to hold their division lead.
"There's no question ... it's sink or swim time," Rodriguez said according to the Associated Press. "In order for us to swim, we'll have to swim the right way. We're going to start playing the brand of baseball we started tonight.
Yankee starter Hiroki Kuroda went six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits. Boone Logan and David Robertson pitched in relief and combined for only one hit and four strikeouts.
Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth inning and closed out the game for his 36th save of the season.
Evan Longoria got the Rays out to an early lead with an RBI single in the first inning, but the Yankees responded, scoring three runs in the fourth inning to take a 3-1 lead. Ben Zobrist later tied the game in the fifth before Martin hit his home run the next inning to put New York ahead.
The Yankees can put distance between themselves and the Orioles by playing well over the next few days. The team opens a four game series Thursday night in Baltimore.
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