The Yankees haven’t won a game like this in over a century
With one swing of the bat, the New York Yankees’ game completely turned. Things looked bleak early, as Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi had no-hit the club through six innings. In the seventh, one swing of the bat was all it took to turn the tides.
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That swing came courtesy of Starlin Castro. With a man on first, Castro belted a 91 mph fastball from Odorizzi out to left center, giving the Yankees the 2-1 lead.
With a lead, manager Joe Girardi turned to his fearsome trio of relievers in the final three innings. Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman would deliver, keeping the Rays off the board to secure the 2-1 victory. It was all due to Castro’s blast.
That hit was even more special than it initially appeared. It was the only hit the Yankees managed the entire day. Despite that, they came away with the victory. That was a feat the team hadn’t accomplished in over a century.
While the above stat is correct, it’s actually been 102 years since the Yankees managed to win despite one hit. But that came in a six-inning game. The contest was presumably shortened due to rain. Sunday marked the first time since 1913 the Yankees pulled off the feat in a nine-inning contest.
Amazingly, this is not the first time this season a team has won a game with just one hit. It’s already happened twice to the Seattle Mariners. The club lost on one hit to the Texas Rangers on opening day, and then again April 29. Felix Hernandez started both of the those games for Seattle.
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Mariners aside, what the Yankees managed Sunday is fairly rare, at least, for them. But given the club’s offensive struggles (they rank 25th in runs scored) and lights out bullpen, this could become a much more common occurrence.
(BLS H/N: Eye on Baseball)
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
