PARADISE CITI
Frazier, Yankees make themselves right at home
Todd Frazier celebrates his three-run homer, capping the Yankees’ five-run fourth inning in their 5-1 win over the Rays in a game moved from Florida to Citi Field because of Hurricane Irma. The Yanks pulled within three games of the idle Red Sox in the AL East.
There was a lot different about Monday night’s Yankees-Rays game except for one thing: Joe Girardi saw his club’s chances of winning the AL East improve and grabbed it by the throat.
This late in the season Girardi would have reacted the same way regardless of where the game was being played. That it was Citi Field only added some strangeness to the situation which included the Yankees being the visiting team in their city and playing in a ballpark where the sec- ond and third decks were closed.
While the Yankees and Rays played in the Mets’ ballpark after Hurricane Irma chased a threegame series out of St. Petersburg, Fla., there was nothing strange about Girardi going for the jugular in the fifth inning which played a huge role in the Yankees taking a 5-1 win in front of 15,327.
When CC Sabathia walked Peter Bourjos, the No. 9 hitter, and gave up a one-out single to Trevor Plouffe with the Yankees leading by four runs, Girardi didn’t allow the veteran lefty another pitch to work out of the jam against Evan Longoria, who owns Sabathia.
David Robertson was summoned and caught Longoria looking and struck out ex-Met Lucas Duda swinging.
“I felt that was the game and I went to him,’’ Girardi said of Robertson, who contributed a careerhigh 2 2/3 innings.
The Yankees’ seventh win in nine games pulled them within three lengths of the AL East-leading Red Sox and increased their lead over the Twins to four in the chase for the top AL wild-card spot.
Robertson was followed by Dellin Betances in the eighth and Aroldis Chapman in the ninth despite it being a non-save situation.
“It is Longoria and he is hitting like .900 off me so I understand it,’’ Sabathia said of being lifted two outs shy of qualifying for the win. “We got the win, that’s all that matters.’’
Longoria started the game hitting .421 (32-for-76) with eight homers and 15 RBIs against Sabathia, who was pitching for the first time since having his right knee drained Thursday. So, after
Sabathia retired Longoria on a ground ball to short in the first and one to third in the third, Girardi wasn’t going to give the DH another chance.
Robertson replaced the retired Mariano Rivera as the Yankees’ closer and then signed a lucrative deal to close for the White Sox. Now, he has no qualms about the inning he is called on.
“As long as we win ballgames and we get to the playoffs I am happy,’’ Robertson said.
The 5-1 lead Sabathia handed Robertson was made possible by a huge error by Plouffe, the Rays’ third baseman, and a towering three-run home run by Todd Frazier that collided with the facing of the second deck in left in a fiverun fourth inning.
“It’s something that you have to take care of afterwards,’’ Frazier said of Plouffe not being able to backhand Matt Holliday’s grounder that scored the heavy-legged Gary Sanchez from first. “With two outs those RBIs are huge. I got a pitch I could drive on a 3-2 count. I felt good about it and it was exciting.’’
After getting swept by the Indians in three games in late August the Yankees have won three straight series and need a split across the next two tilts to extend that to four.
“Winning is contagious. When you come to the ballpark you know something good is going to happen,’’ said Frazier, who has 24 homers and 67 RBIs overall and eight homers and 23 RBIs in 49 games with the Yankees. “It could be any guy.’’
Monday night it was two guys acquired from the White Sox — Frazier and Robertson — and a manager who saw a chance for a win and didn’t hesitate.