NEW YORK -- Tyler Austin wasn't sure if Yankees manager Joe Girardi would let him face a right-hander in the ninth inning.
Switch-hitting veteran Mark Teixeira was still on the bench, and the right-handed hitting Austin isn't far removed from a long slump.
Girardi stuck with the rookie, and he came through, helping the Baby Bombers continue their unlikely push into postseason contention.
Austin hit a solo homer in the ninth to give New York its season-high fifth straight victory, 5-4 over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night.
Brian McCann hit two homers for the Yankees, who moved a season-high nine games over .500 (74-65).
After blowing three leads during the first six innings, New York moved within two games of Baltimore for the second AL wild card and four games of AL East-leading Boston. Resurgent New York plays 20 of its remaining 23 games against division opponents, putting it in position to compete despite selling off key pieces at the Aug. 1 deadline.
"I think everybody in this clubhouse believes that we can make a push at this thing and get in the postseason," Austin said. "It's an exciting time right now."
Austin homered off Erasmo Ramirez (7-11) on a 3-2 pitch for his third homer since being called up Aug. 13. Teammates met him at home plate by dousing him with water in a raucous celebration.
"That was a huge team win for us," Austin said, "and a special moment."
A long one coming, too. Injuries and poor performance slowed Austin's climb through the minors, and in 2015, he was demoted from Triple-A to Double-A during the season. He opened back at Double-A Trenton again this season, a disappointing assignment, but then forced his way to the majors with his bat.
"I didn't give up, kept battling and you know, here we are," he said.
After homering in his big league debut, Austin entered a 4-for-33 slump that ended Sunday. He since has a five-game hitting streak.
Girardi decided to let the 25-year-old Austin bat because Ramirez has better numbers against left-handed hitters.
"And he's in the game," Girardi said of Austin. "A lot of times it's a lot easier if you're in the game."
The pesky Rays kept coming back, getting two homers each from Kevin Kiermaier and Steven Souza by the sixth. This was the first game this season in which three players had multiple homers, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
MAC ATTACK
McCann's homer in the second landed in the luxury suites just below the third deck in right field. His second put the Yankees up 4-3 in the fourth, giving him 19 for the season.
The left-handed slugger is one shy of his ninth straight 20-homer season and 10th overall but entered on a 3-for-20 slide.
"You want to pull your weight around here," McCann said. "For a large part of the season, I haven't been doing that. So tonight was nice to get to some baseballs and backspin them."
WELCOME ABOARD
Tampa Bay hit four homers after being joined by new hitting coach Chad Mottola earlier in the day. Mottola was promoted from minor league hitting coordinator after Tampa Bay fired Derek Shelton on Tuesday.
Kiermaier homered twice in the first three innings, setting a career high with his 11th homer in the third. He's hit safely in a career-best 12 straight games, the longest streak by a Ray this season.
Souza had his third multihomer game of the season, and second at Yankee Stadium.
`PEN GAMES
New York had to use five relievers on a night when its bullpen was already short-handed. Girardi hoped to avoid using Dellin Betances, Tyler Clippard, Adam Warren and Luis Severino, so he had to dig deep in the bullpen when CC Sabathia went just four innings, allowing three homers while throwing 87 pitches.
Girardi was still aggressive matching up his left-handed relievers, including when Tommy Layne (2-1) entered and struck out pinch-hitter Logan Morrison to end the ninth.
BACK IN THE GROOVE
Alex Cobb made his second start since having Tommy John surgery and allowed four runs over six innings. He gave up two homers and threw 89 pitches.
"He's around the strike zone, extremely efficient, kept his pitch count down, gave us every opportunity to win," manager Kevin Cash said.
A SMALL PARTY
The paid attendance was 27,631, under 30,000 for just the second time at Yankee Stadium -- the first was 27,532 on Tuesday. That was the first time under 30,000 since 2004.
BALK BACK
Umpires called Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder for a balk that let in a run in the fifth inning, then overturned the call.
Holder motioned with his glove for McCann to show him the signs again, and first base umpire Jordan Baker called a balk, allowing Logan Forsythe to score from third.
The Yankees argued, and the umpires conferred before overturning the decision.
TO THE BALLOTS
The Staten Island Yankees, one of New York's Class-A affiliates, are holding a fan vote to decide on a new team name. The options are: Bridge Trolls, Island Heroes, Killer Bees, Pizza Rats and Rock Pigeons.
TRAINING ROOM
Rays: SS Matt Duffy will have surgery Friday on his left heel. Dr. Bob Anderson, team orthopedist for the NFL's Carolina Panthers, will perform the operation. ... RHP Chase Whitley is expected to return following Tommy John surgery in one of the next three games. Whitley pitched for the Yankees in 2014 and `15 but was placed on waivers and claimed by Tampa Bay last November while recovering from the surgery.
UP NEXT
Rays: Rookie LHP Blake Snell (5-7, 3.39) starts vs. New York on Friday night. He struck out seven over six innings of one-run ball in a win against Toronto last time out and has a 2.61 ERA in two starts against New York this season.
Yankees: RHP Michael Pineda (6-11, 5.10) pitches against Tampa Bay. Pineda is 0-1 with a 7.04 ERA over his past three starts.
Tampa Bay Rays
Switch-hitting veteran Mark Teixeira was still on the bench, and the right-handed hitting Austin isn't far removed from a long slump.
Girardi stuck with the rookie, and he came through, helping the Baby Bombers continue their unlikely push into postseason contention.
Austin hit a solo homer in the ninth to give New York its season-high fifth straight victory, 5-4 over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night.
Brian McCann hit two homers for the Yankees, who moved a season-high nine games over .500 (74-65).
After blowing three leads during the first six innings, New York moved within two games of Baltimore for the second AL wild card and four games of AL East-leading Boston. Resurgent New York plays 20 of its remaining 23 games against division opponents, putting it in position to compete despite selling off key pieces at the Aug. 1 deadline.
"I think everybody in this clubhouse believes that we can make a push at this thing and get in the postseason," Austin said. "It's an exciting time right now."
Austin homered off Erasmo Ramirez (7-11) on a 3-2 pitch for his third homer since being called up Aug. 13. Teammates met him at home plate by dousing him with water in a raucous celebration.
"That was a huge team win for us," Austin said, "and a special moment."
A long one coming, too. Injuries and poor performance slowed Austin's climb through the minors, and in 2015, he was demoted from Triple-A to Double-A during the season. He opened back at Double-A Trenton again this season, a disappointing assignment, but then forced his way to the majors with his bat.
"I didn't give up, kept battling and you know, here we are," he said.
After homering in his big league debut, Austin entered a 4-for-33 slump that ended Sunday. He since has a five-game hitting streak.
Girardi decided to let the 25-year-old Austin bat because Ramirez has better numbers against left-handed hitters.
"And he's in the game," Girardi said of Austin. "A lot of times it's a lot easier if you're in the game."
The pesky Rays kept coming back, getting two homers each from Kevin Kiermaier and Steven Souza by the sixth. This was the first game this season in which three players had multiple homers, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
MAC ATTACK
McCann's homer in the second landed in the luxury suites just below the third deck in right field. His second put the Yankees up 4-3 in the fourth, giving him 19 for the season.
The left-handed slugger is one shy of his ninth straight 20-homer season and 10th overall but entered on a 3-for-20 slide.
"You want to pull your weight around here," McCann said. "For a large part of the season, I haven't been doing that. So tonight was nice to get to some baseballs and backspin them."
WELCOME ABOARD
Tampa Bay hit four homers after being joined by new hitting coach Chad Mottola earlier in the day. Mottola was promoted from minor league hitting coordinator after Tampa Bay fired Derek Shelton on Tuesday.
Kiermaier homered twice in the first three innings, setting a career high with his 11th homer in the third. He's hit safely in a career-best 12 straight games, the longest streak by a Ray this season.
Souza had his third multihomer game of the season, and second at Yankee Stadium.
`PEN GAMES
New York had to use five relievers on a night when its bullpen was already short-handed. Girardi hoped to avoid using Dellin Betances, Tyler Clippard, Adam Warren and Luis Severino, so he had to dig deep in the bullpen when CC Sabathia went just four innings, allowing three homers while throwing 87 pitches.
Girardi was still aggressive matching up his left-handed relievers, including when Tommy Layne (2-1) entered and struck out pinch-hitter Logan Morrison to end the ninth.
BACK IN THE GROOVE
Alex Cobb made his second start since having Tommy John surgery and allowed four runs over six innings. He gave up two homers and threw 89 pitches.
"He's around the strike zone, extremely efficient, kept his pitch count down, gave us every opportunity to win," manager Kevin Cash said.
A SMALL PARTY
The paid attendance was 27,631, under 30,000 for just the second time at Yankee Stadium -- the first was 27,532 on Tuesday. That was the first time under 30,000 since 2004.
BALK BACK
Umpires called Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder for a balk that let in a run in the fifth inning, then overturned the call.
Holder motioned with his glove for McCann to show him the signs again, and first base umpire Jordan Baker called a balk, allowing Logan Forsythe to score from third.
The Yankees argued, and the umpires conferred before overturning the decision.
TO THE BALLOTS
The Staten Island Yankees, one of New York's Class-A affiliates, are holding a fan vote to decide on a new team name. The options are: Bridge Trolls, Island Heroes, Killer Bees, Pizza Rats and Rock Pigeons.
TRAINING ROOM
Rays: SS Matt Duffy will have surgery Friday on his left heel. Dr. Bob Anderson, team orthopedist for the NFL's Carolina Panthers, will perform the operation. ... RHP Chase Whitley is expected to return following Tommy John surgery in one of the next three games. Whitley pitched for the Yankees in 2014 and `15 but was placed on waivers and claimed by Tampa Bay last November while recovering from the surgery.
UP NEXT
Rays: Rookie LHP Blake Snell (5-7, 3.39) starts vs. New York on Friday night. He struck out seven over six innings of one-run ball in a win against Toronto last time out and has a 2.61 ERA in two starts against New York this season.
Yankees: RHP Michael Pineda (6-11, 5.10) pitches against Tampa Bay. Pineda is 0-1 with a 7.04 ERA over his past three starts.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Tampa Bay - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | TB | NYY |
| Forsythe flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Kiermaier homered to right (393 feet). | 1 | 0 |
| Longoria singled to left. | 1 | 0 |
| Miller hit by pitch, Longoria to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Mahtook fouled out to first. | 1 | 0 |
| Franklin grounded into fielder's choice to third, Miller out at second. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | NYY |
| Miller at first base. | 1 | 0 |
| Franklin at shortstop. | 1 | 0 |
| Gardner singled to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Ellsbury singled to center, Gardner to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Sánchez grounded out to pitcher, Gardner to third, Ellsbury to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Gregorius singled to right, Gardner scored, Ellsbury to third. | 1 | 1 |
| Ellsbury scored, Gregorius safe at first on throwing error by pitcher Cobb. | 1 | 2 |
| Castro grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Gregorius out at second. | 1 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | TB | NYY |
| Souza Jr. homered to right center (399 feet). | 2 | 2 |
| Shaffer grounded out to second. | 2 | 2 |
| Casali struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| Forsythe struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | NYY |
| Franklin at first base. | 2 | 2 |
| McCann homered to right (412 feet). | 2 | 3 |
| Headley grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 3 |
| Austin grounded out to second. | 2 | 3 |
| Judge singled to left. | 2 | 3 |
| Judge caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. | 2 | 3 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | TB | NYY |
| Kiermaier homered to right (372 feet). | 3 | 3 |
| Longoria grounded out to third. | 3 | 3 |
| Mahtook struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | NYY |
| Gardner singled to right. | 3 | 3 |
| Ellsbury flied out to left. | 3 | 3 |
| Sánchez lined out to center. | 3 | 3 |
| Gregorius grounded out to second. | 3 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | TB | NYY |
| Franklin bunt grounded out to catcher. | 3 | 3 |
| Souza Jr. reached on infield single to third. | 3 | 3 |
| Shaffer flied out to right. | 3 | 3 |
| Casali grounded out to first. | 3 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | NYY |
| Castro grounded out to first. | 3 | 3 |
| McCann homered to right (384 feet). | 3 | 4 |
| Headley grounded out to first. | 3 | 4 |
| Austin reached on infield single to second. | 3 | 4 |
| Judge grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Austin out at second. | 3 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | TB | NYY |
| Forsythe singled to left. | 3 | 4 |
| Kiermaier singled to shallow right, Forsythe to second. | 3 | 4 |
| Holder relieved Sabathia. | 3 | 4 |
| Longoria grounded into double play, third to second to first, Kiermaier out at second, Forsythe to third. | 3 | 4 |
| A. Ramírez grounded out to third. | 3 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | NYY |
| Gardner grounded out to pitcher. | 3 | 4 |
| Ellsbury grounded out to first. | 3 | 4 |
| Sánchez fouled out to third. | 3 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jonathan Holder pitching for New York | TB | NYY |
| Mahtook flied out to center. | 3 | 4 |
| Franklin flied out to right. | 3 | 4 |
| Souza Jr. homered to center (461 feet). | 4 | 4 |
| Shaffer singled to shallow right. | 4 | 4 |
| Casali struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | NYY |
| Gregorius grounded out to first. | 4 | 4 |
| Castro struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| McCann singled to right center. | 4 | 4 |
| Headley grounded into fielder's choice to third, McCann out at second. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Jonathan Holder pitching for New York | TB | NYY |
| Shreve relieved Holder. | 4 | 4 |
| Forsythe singled to left center. | 4 | 4 |
| Kiermaier bunt popped out foul to third. | 4 | 4 |
| Parker relieved Shreve. | 4 | 4 |
| Longoria flied out to right. | 4 | 4 |
| A. Ramírez singled to center, Forsythe to second. | 4 | 4 |
| Mahtook struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | NYY |
| Boxberger relieved Cobb. | 4 | 4 |
| Austin struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| Judge flied out to right. | 4 | 4 |
| Gardner flied out to left. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Blake Parker pitching for New York | TB | NYY |
| Franklin flied out to left. | 4 | 4 |
| Souza Jr. struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| Shaffer walked. | 4 | 4 |
| Casali flied out to left. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Danny Farquhar pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | NYY |
| Ellsbury walked. | 4 | 4 |
| Sánchez fouled out to third. | 4 | 4 |
| Gregorius struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| Castro struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Kirby Yates pitching for New York | TB | NYY |
| Forsythe struck out looking. | 4 | 4 |
| Kiermaier reached on infield single to second. | 4 | 4 |
| Longoria flied out to second. | 4 | 4 |
| Morrison hit for A. Ramírez. | 4 | 4 |
| Layne relieved Yates. | 4 | 4 |
| Morrison struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Enny Romero pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | NYY |
| McCann flied out to right. | 4 | 4 |
| Headley flied out to second. | 4 | 4 |
| E. Ramírez relieved Romero. | 4 | 4 |
| Austin homered to right center (381 feet). | 4 | 5 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
Tampa Bay Rays
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forsythe 2B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26 | .281 | .350 | .474 |
| Kiermaier CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | .249 | .329 | .434 |
| Longoria DH | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | .280 | .328 | .528 |
| Miller SS-1B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .254 | .311 | .495 |
A. Ramírez SS
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .333 | .333 | .333 |
a-Morrison PH-1B
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .235 | .317 | .404 |
| Mahtook LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | .171 | .226 | .236 |
| Franklin 1B-SS-1B-SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .281 | .345 | .489 |
| Souza Jr. RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 18 | .238 | .289 | .397 |
| Shaffer 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | .300 | .417 | .400 |
| Casali C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | .164 | .252 | .308 |
| Totals | 38 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 151 | |||
| a-struck out swinging for A Ramirez in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING HR: Kiermaier 2 (11, 1st inning off Sabathia 0 on, 1 Out; 3rd inning off Sabathia 0 on, 0 Out); Souza Jr. 2 (15, 2nd inning off Sabathia 0 on, 0 Out; 6th inning off Holder 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: Kiermaier 2 (34), Souza Jr. 2 (45) 2-out RBI: Souza Jr. GIDP: Longoria Rays RISP: 0-5 (Franklin 0-1, A. Ramírez 0-1, Mahtook 0-2, Longoria 0-1) Team LOB: 9 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Cobb (1, throw) DP: 1 (Forsythe-Miller-Franklin). | ||||||||||
Game Notes
| INF MILLER (RIGHT ELBOW SORENESS) LEFT GAME BOT 2ND. |
Game Information
| Stadium | Yankee Stadium, New York, NY |
| Attendance | 27,631 (55.7% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:21 |
| Weather | 84 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 13 mph, out to left |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Mike Everitt, First Base - Jordan Baker, Second Base - Tim Timmons, Third Base - Chad Whitson |
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