The Yankees had built a 1-0 lead in the sixth when Alex Rodriguez came up with a runner on first. Rays’ starter Chris Archer delivered a fastball right down the middle that the 40-year-old turned on. It was a no-doubt home run off the bat, his sixth of the year. Given all the pregame discussion about whether or not the team still needed him, it felt like one of those typical A-Rod moments– like the famous home run in Baltimore in 2009– where the drama finds him and he makes the most of it.
The two-run blast wound up being all the offense the Yankees would need in a 4-1 win Friday night in Tampa Bay, thanks to the gem thrown by Masahiro Tanaka.