TIE ONE OFF
Gary Sanchez snapped a ninegame homerless streak with a third-inning shot Thursday, but it was his seeing-eye single in the bottom of the ninth of the Yankees’ 6-5, 11-inning win over Tampa Bay that proved to be more memorable.
With the Yankees down to their final out and Brett Gardner at third base, Sanchez hit a grounder to the left side of second base.
The Rays were employing a shift on the play, with both second baseman Tim Beckham and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria on the left side of the infield.
But neither infielder moved for the ball and it scooted into the outfield, allowing Gardner to score the tying run against closer Alex Colome. Gardner won the game two innings later with a leadoff homer in the 11th.
“Once I hit it, I thought they had a really good chance of catching it,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “But I noticed both of them froze.”
“We caught a break,” Joe Girardi said of the play.
Sanchez also hit his 15th homer of the season, off Chris Archer, which gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead against the Rays — and Logan Morrison, who earlier this month criticized Sanchez’s selection to the Home Run Derby.
“Gary shouldn’t be there,” Morrison told the Tampa Bay Times at the time. “Gary’s a great player, but he shouldn’t be in the Home Run Derby.”
On Thursday, Morrison said he texted Sanchez shortly after he made his comments to clarify what he meant.
“I was very surprised at the direction it went,” Morrison said. “It was supposed to be about MLB and how they choose contestants. ... It was not at all directed at Gary.”
Sanchez said he took Morrison at his word.
“He told me he wasn’t referring to me,” Sanchez said. “He was talking about the people organizing the event. It’s in the past. And at the time, I was focused on enjoying the All-Star Game.”
“I think it’s squashed,” said Morrison, who has 26 homers and was not asked to participate in the event. “There was nothing there in the first place. ... It’s an institutional thing. People earn the right to compete in something and they should be able to compete.”
Morrison didn’t believe there would be any lingering tension between him and Sanchez.
“Like I said, I think he’s a great player,” Morrison said. “If he was on my team, I’d love to play with him.”