Yanks power up late to muscle past Marlins
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez stroked a pair of singles to move one hit away from 3,000, and the Yankees got a pair of two-run homers from Carlos Beltran and Brett Gardner, powering a 9-4 victory over the Marlins on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.
• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for #ASGWorthy players
Beltran gave the Yankees the lead in the seventh inning with a two-run shot to left off Mike Dunn, one frame after Gardner tied the game with a two-run shot to right off Marlins starter Mat Latos. Rodriguez notched an RBI single in the first and another single in the fifth, needing one more to become the 29th Major Leaguer to reach the milestone.
"The crowd has been amazing all year. That was phenomenal," Rodriguez said. "It was a great night, great win. I felt great, and the fans were phenomenal."
Giancarlo Stanton hit a sixth-inning homer off Yankees starter CC Sabathia, who permitted three runs over six innings in a no-decision. Latos also logged a no-decision after allowing three runs over 5 2/3 innings, as the Marlins and Yankees split their four-game home-and-home Interleague series.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Two cracks at 3K: History was within reach after Rodriguez collected career hit No. 2,999, and he was welcomed to home plate with a standing ovation in the sixth inning. Rodriguez lined out hard to right field on the first pitch he saw from Dunn, then stepped up again in the eighth to face Sam Dyson. Rodriguez was forced to dodge four inside pitches from the right-hander, drawing vociferous boos from the crowd of 38,239.
"If he was going to beat me, he was going to have to get the head [of the bat] out," Dyson said. "I ended up throwing four balls kind of at his belt off the plate."
"In a 5-3 game, the game is there for the taking," Rodriguez said. "He's trying to make pitches, trying to get me out. I'm trying to get a base hit." More >
Video: MIA@NYY: A-Rod stands at 2,999 after a 2-for-4 night
Stanton's power surge: Laser-shots keep coming off the bat for Stanton, who blistered a home run off Sabathia in the sixth inning that Statcast™ projected to land 420 feet away from home plate, with an exit velocity of 115 mph. The drive off a slider gives Stanton 10 homers in June, matching Hanley Ramirez's club record for the month, initially set in 2008.
"It was a slider that kept sliding," Stanton said of the pitch. "I had to keep my extension going." More >
Video: MIA@NYY: Stanton laces 25th home run of season
Latos falters in sixth: The Marlins were trying to squeeze one more out from Latos, and it ended up costing them in the sixth inning. Up 3-1, Latos logged two quick outs before Mason Williams' second double of the night. Latos' night ended on his 108th and final pitch, which was driven over the wall in right-center by Gardner for the game-tying, two-run homer.
Video: MIA@NYY: Latos fans six over 5 2/3 innings of work
"The last hitter [Gardner], it was one two-seamer that didn't move," Latos said. "All game I had a pretty good feel for my two-seamer. I had some good movement on it. Just one that didn't move."
Video: MIA@NYY: Gardner crushes a game-tying two-run homer
Beltran's big blast: Beltran heard boos after he popped out to strand two runners in scoring position in the fifth, but he atoned in the seventh by unloading for his fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot off Dunn that landed in the left-field seats.
"Of course it feels good," Beltran said. "Before that, I had a few opportunities to try to get a run in and I didn't do it, so you're just trying to put a good at-bat [together]. I think it's good I was able to put a good at-bat [together] and give us the run right there."
Beltran's go-ahead blast came an inning after Gardner tied the game with his sixth homer, which took Sabathia off the hook after the left-hander permitted a go-ahead sacrifice fly to Jeff Mathis in the fifth and Stanton's long, loud homer in the sixth.
"It's difficult not being the guy I used to be, who went deep into games," Sabathia said. "It just kind of is what it is. I go out there hard as I can until I'm done."
Video: MIA@NYY: CC fans seven Marlins over six solid frames
QUOTABLE
"[Stanton] put a great swing on that ball. That was the add-on runs we'd been looking for. Between Dee [Gordon] and Giancarlo, they had five hits. Dee with another three-hit game. There were some bright spots. For the first time in a long time we didn't handle our business on the back end [of the bullpen]." -- Marlins manager Dan Jennings
"I was kind of hoping to get it out of the way, but we'll have to wait another day to see what happens. He didn't really have much of a chance in his last at-bat. But we'll get an opportunity tomorrow." -- Yankees manager Joe Girardi, on A-Rod
Video: MIA@NYY: Girardi discusses win over Marlins, A-Rod
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Home run No. 25 for Stanton marked the 23rd different park the 25-year-old sensation has cleared the fences in.
WHAT'S NEXT
Marlins: The second leg of Miami's five-game road trip begins at Cincinnati on Friday night at 7:10 ET. Dan Haren (6-3, 3.22 ERA) will make his 14th start of the season, and his 10th career appearance against the Reds, against whom he is 4-3 with a 4.78 ERA. Mike Leake (3-4, 4.35 ERA) opens the series for Cincinnati.
Yankees: Adam Warren (4-4, 3.78 ERA) will make his 13th start of the season as the Yankees open a three-game series with the Tigers at Yankee Stadium on Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET. Warren last pitched on June 14 at Baltimore, taking a no-decision after allowing three runs in 4 2/3 innings. Justin Verlander (0-0, 3.60 ERA) draws the start for Detroit. Fans can watch Rodriguez go for 3,000 hits on MLB Network's Showcase game, during which his swings will be measured by Statcast™.
Watch every out-of-market regular season game live on MLB.TV.