The Yankees have been searching for sparks that would reverse their fortunes against the Rays, who have owned the upper hand in most of their head-to-head showdowns. DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela may have provided exactly what they needed.
LeMahieu homered twice and Urshela bolted for a mad dash around the basepaths in the sixth inning, punctuating a 360-foot trip around the diamond with a terrific slide as the Yankees surged to a 5-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday evening at Yankee Stadium.
After LeMahieu enjoyed the fourth multi-homer game of his career by going deep in the first and third innings off Rays starter Trevor Richards, Urshela stepped in against right-hander Ryan Thompson and drilled a liner toward the gap in right-center field, eluding a diving attempt from three-time Gold Glove winner Kevin Kiermaier.
lol pic.twitter.com/FmYq7Nj3y9
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 1, 2020
Machine Mode. pic.twitter.com/z0IPjymJF5
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 1, 2020
As Kiermaier smashed his palm into the outfield turf, Luke Voit and Clint Frazier trotted home easily. Urshela stopped briefly at third base, then broke when shortstop Willy Adames threw wildly over home plate. Thompson was there to back up and tossed to catcher Michael Perez in what appeared to be plenty of time, but Urshela eluded the tag with a nifty swim move.
On your mark.
Get set.
Gio. pic.twitter.com/oCqDEOjqh5— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 2, 2020
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].