Watch Lombard’s go-ahead homer. The Yankees were still chasing the Rays when George Lombard Jr. changed Thursday night's game. His seventh-inning RBI double started a three-run rally, his evasive slide brought the Yankees within one, and his two-run homer in the eighth put New York ahead for good in a 6-4 win at Yankee Stadium. The rookie finished with two hits and three RBIs, giving New York the two biggest swings of a night when Tampa Bay's early lead had looked secure.
The Rays built their advantage without a home run. Junior Caminero drove in Yandy Díaz with singles in the third and fifth innings. A sixth-inning force play and Yankees error brought another run home. Ian Seymour had meanwhile held New York to one hit over five scoreless innings, with three strikeouts. Yankees starter Cam Schlittler worked only three innings but finished his season with a 1.95 ERA, according to the Associated Press. Tampa Bay had nine hits overall and left 12 runners on base, a detail that became costly when the Yankees finally started to score.
Austin Wells began the response with a solo homer in the sixth. Lombard's double in the seventh scored Ben Rice. He then escaped a tag at the plate after a wild pitch to make it 4-3, before Paul Goldschmidt's single brought Wells home with the tying run. In the eighth, with Amed Rosario aboard, Lombard sent Steven Matz's pitch over the left-field wall for his seventh homer of the season. That was the lead New York kept. Bradley Hanner threw two scoreless innings to earn the win; Matz took the loss.
