BOMBERS BASH TRIBE
Castro, Sanchez lead Yanks on Teixeira’s emotional day
Yankee Stadium felt and sounded like a walkout bout at Sunnyside Garden Arena when two young fighters from Queens were pitted against each other long after the blood from the featured bout had soaked into the canvas.
This is what happens when a team underperforms and the main event, in this case the chance to win the AL East, is over. One of two wild-card tickets? Drug testing, second door on the left.
Andrew Miller was in the Indians’ bullpen. Aroldis Chapman is a Cub. Carlos Beltran is a Ranger. Before the Indians-Yankees game Friday night, Mark Teixeira announced he will walk away from baseball at the end of the season. And the light buzz the Subway Series created was swept away with the peanut shells and beer cups.
Against that backdrop Starlin Castro and Gary Sanchez, important pieces of the Yankees’ rebuilding project, provided enough muscle to carry them to a 13-7 victory Friday night that was witnessed by 39,252 and took three hours and 39 agonizing minutes to complete.
Hours after announcing he will retire at the end of this season, Teixeira went 2-for-4 and scored two runs.
Castro, who could eventually shift from second base to third and played short Friday night for the resting Didi Gregorius, hit a grand slam off Indians starter Josh Tomlin to spark a five-run third and finished 2-for-2, while scoring three runs and walking twice.
Sanchez, who might dislodge Brian McCann as the regular catcher by next Opening Day, went 1-for-4, drove in two runs, threw out two runners attempting to swipe second in the first two frames, blocked the ball well and helped Michael Pineda get through six innings.
Jacoby Ellsbury went 4-for-5 and scored two runs.
“I didn’t see him get flustered at any point. I didn’t see him get emotional,’’ Joe Girardi said of the 23year-old Sanchez, who started behind the plate for the first time in the big leagues. “He made two good throws, helped Michael early in the game, recorded two of the first four outs. I thought he did a nice job.’’
Castro watched Tomlin (11-4) fall behind Chase Headley in the third, 3-0, and issue the fourth ball intentionally to load the bases for Castro.
“I hit it very good,’’ Castro said of the opposite-field fly ball to right that was his first career slam and 12th homer this season. “I thought it was a home run right away, but even if he caught it, was going to be an RBI.’’
The Yankees turned one hit and four walks into two runs in the sixth and Aaron Hicks’ leadoff homer in the seventh stretched the lead to 11-4.
Three Indians runs in the eighth charged to Johnny Barbato made it 11-7 and had Girardi ringing the bullpen to get Dellin Betances up.
Brett Gardner’s two-run single in the eighth stretched the lead to 13-7 and dismissed the idea of using Betances. Yet, when the Indians put two runners on in the ninth against Nick Goody, Betances got back up.
Pineda was handed a 6-0 lead after four and gave three back in the fifth. Ahead, 9-3 when the seventh opened, Pineda gave up a leadoff double to Jose Ramirez and vanished.
In six-plus innings Pineda (6-10) gave up four runs and six hits.
Pineda is 27 and young enough to be part of the Yankees’ future. Yet, he will be a free agent after next season, so it might be wise to see what the inconsistent right-hander can bring back in a deal.
There is no danger in that happening with Sanchez, whom the Yankees have installed as their No. 1 prospect. For one night he played like it.
“I felt great out there. I felt comfortable,’’ Sanchez said. “You get confidence from making two good throws like that and getting them out.’’