YANKS HAVE A BRAWL
RALLY PAST JAYS AS BENCHES EMPTY TWICE
TORONTO — Just when you thought the Yankees’ season was going to end with a whimper, they showed they had at least one punch left in them.
After the benches cleared twice in the first two innings and the Yankees came up with five runs in the ninth to take a lead, they were left with Tommy Layne trying to get out Troy Tulowitzki with the tying run on second base.
Layne got the last out thanks to a sliding catch in foul territory by left fielder Brett Gardner, as the Yankees held on for a 7-5 victory to snap a four-game losing streak and avoid dropping their tragic number to one.
“This was a tough road trip for us,” Layne said of the 3-8 fiasco that effectively doomed the Yankees’ playoff hopes. “But let’s have some good series against Boston and Baltimore. You know what? We’re not out of it. Let’s see what happens.”
Truthfully, everyone — including the Yankees — knows how this story is go- ing to end with six games remaining. But for one night at Rogers Centre, in front of another packed house, the Yankees showed they could still be dangerous against a playoff contender.
Down by a run in the ninth, Mark Teixeira hit a long homer to right to tie the game off Jason Grilli.
The first baseman, down to the last week of his career, enjoyed the blast, flipping his bat and coasting around the bases — much to the aggravation of Grilli and catcher Russell Martin.
“It could be my last one,” Teixeira said, adding of the bat flip: “Those guys do it all the time. They have fun with it.”
Didi Gregorius followed with a single before Aaron Hicks went deep to give the Yankees the lead. Jacoby Ellsbury and Gary Sanchez added RBIs later in the inning — which proved crucial when Dellin Betances faltered in the bottom of the inning.
Trying to protect a four-run lead, the struggling Betances walked Justin Smoak on four pitches and then tripped trying to field a bunt by Kevin Pillar for a single. Then he walked Darwin Barney to load the bases and third base coach Joe Espada — filling in for the ejected Joe Girardi — removed Betances.
Layne got Josh Donaldson to fly out, walked Edwin Encarnacion to force in a run and allowed a bloop single to Dioner Navarro. But he recovered to make a remarkable play on Martin’s nubber in front of the plate, racing to the ball and then beating Barney to the plate for the force.
“All I remember is picking the ball up and the next thing I saw was the plate with my glove on it,” Layne said.
He retired Tulowitzki to
end a sweet victory for a reeling team that was angered when Toronto starter J.A. Happ threw behind Chase Headley in the second and then hit him on the next pitch — seemingly in retaliation for Luis Severino hitting Josh Donaldson in the first.
“He’s got to be tossed,” said Girardi, who was tossed for arguing with the umpires. “That’s terrible.”
“I wasn’t trying to hit Chase, but it happened,” Happ said. “They can say whatever they want to say.” Headley didn’t buy it. “I was shocked that he threw at me in a game of that magnitude,” Headley said. “He’s one of the better pitchers in the league. They’re trying to win every game they play. Generally, if you do that, you’re out of the game.”
Severino then hit Smoak to leadoff the bottom of the inning and was immediately ejected, as was bench coach Rob Thomson and pitching coach Larry Rothschild.
Smoak and Kevin Pillar — from the on deck circle — came at Severino, who charged forward.
“I saw [Pillar] run at me,” said Severino, who insisted the pitch got away from him. “I’ve got to defend myself.”
Asked about Toronto’s tendency to be in the middle of these fights, CC Sabathia — who was in the mix, along with Martin and Gary Sanchez — said: “I guess it just tells you a lot about their team.”
“Obviously, we’ve got some seriously long odds,” Headley said. “But we have to win.”