Jacoby Ellsbury stole home for Yankees vs. Rays

No piggybacking a steal of second base.

LHP Matt Moore was pitching out of the windup Friday night when the Yankees' Jacoby Ellsbury broke from third and stole home with two outs and a 3-2 count on Gardner.

"I did part of my job", Ramirez said. "Early in the at-bat, I was thinking about laying a bunt down and trying to steal second and give Carlos a shot at it. I kind of enjoyed it". He started out back and then he came up.

When Sabathia struck out Steven Souza JR. in the top of the third, it moved him past Warren Spahn for 25th place on the all-time strikeout list. "It was just a matter of where". Once Gardner connected, the ball turned landed in the second deck at in right field and touched off a wild celebration at the plate.

After working around a pair of two-out singles in the eighth, Ramirez got the first two outs of the ninth before Gardner's home run capped a tough day for the bullpen.

"When you use Miller and Betances, you want to win those games, and Gardy came up with a huge hit", catcher Brian McCann said. He is 13 strikeouts shy of becoming the fifth active pitcher with more than 2,000 strikeouts. "He put a big swing on it and hit it a long way".

It was New York's first walk-off win this season and Gardner's sixth career game-ending hit, including two homers. By waiting to recall him on Saturday, the Rays have guaranteed he can only reach 163 days of service time this season, meaning they'll hold on to the extra year of control, which would run through the 2022 season. I felt jittery, anxious to get it going.

"It was a little different". "It's not how you would draw it up".

"That's what we need from him", Girardi added, meaning Tanaka.

Blake Snell pitched well in a no-decision in his major league debut on Saturday, limiting the Yankees to one run on two hits over his five innings.

It's an issue that still needs refinement, as Snell found the strike zone with just 53 of his 90 pitches (58.9 percent).

Manager Kevin Cash said it was "uncharacteristic" to see Cedeno struggle.

The Yankees also got another terrific outing from Masahiro Tanaka, who has clearly established himself as the club's ace. "I thought he threw the ball really well, he kept those guys off balance".

The catalyst for the Yankees was Jacoby Ellsbury who entered the game in the fifth inning as a defensive replacement for Aaron Hicks who apparently injured his shoulder attempting a diving catch.

"That gave us an opportunity", manager Joe Girardi said. RHP Nick Goody was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Tanaka has only walked one batter in 20 innings versus Tampa Bay, posting a 2-0 mark while limiting the Rays to a.222 batting average.

Pinder has a partial tear in the UCL in his right elbow, and has to decide if he wants to rehab it or have Tommy John surgery.