If you’re a Yankees hater, man, Monday was your night.
So there I was on the couch, multi-clickers by my side. Watching the very mediocre Red Sox eke out a 10-8 win over Toronto while between innings torturing myself by turning to cable news where the debate raged on over whether Trump is a racist.
Of course, occasionally checking the Yankees score — because that’s what Red Sox and Yankees fans do: check in on each other, just like Carolina and Duke fans. The Yanks were behind the Rays early, then tied the game and then went up 4-2, so it looked like another win for the first place, nearly-unbeatable Bronx Bombers. But just before turning off the TV altogether, I checked the Yankees score one last time.
Amazingly, they were now behind Tampa Bay 5-4 and batting in the bottom of the 9th. I flipped over to that game and watched the Rays hang on for the win. But I had to go back and see how it happened.
The MLB package lets you scroll back to any half inning and watch the replay. So I went right to the top of the ninth. This was so unbelievable, I’ve got to tell you what happened:
The inning opened with the Yanks’ bullet-firing lefty closer Aroldis Chapman on the mound. He got two strikes on the first batter who then squibbed a single to left field. He got two strikes on the second batter who then almost broke his bat lining a soft single to center. First and second nobody out.
Chapman struck out the next two Rays, making them both look foolish trying to guess between his 100-mile-an-hour fast ball and a slider you can herniate a disk trying to hit. Two outs and, if I didn’t know better, the game was surely over. But I knew better.
The Rays next hitter was catcher Travis D’Arnaud, who until I saw the graphic on the screen didn’t realize he had already hit two earlier home runs into the short right field seats at Yankee Stadium. Nah, couldn’t happen again, I said to myself, squeezing the clicker to death.
After about eight pitches, and three foul balls, the count was full at 3 and 2. In came another Chapman fastball, and out when another high fly to right field. D’Arnaud watched the ball’s flight and did a little jump as it barely reached the fans, again.
Rays win! Rays Win! Or, should I say, Yanks lose! Yanks lose!
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