Eighth-inning heroics help Yankees topple Rays 8-3

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images Tuesday night’s Yankees-Rays matchup was a tale of two baseball games. For the first seven innings, Tampa Bay had the edge. The Rays kept on grinding out hits and their pitchers held the Yankees at bay. With a flick of the switch in the bottom of the eighth, though, the Yankees powered two home runs—including a grand slam—to take the 8-3 lead. The Bombers regained their six-game division lead as well.

Both teams got on the board quickly in the second inning. Austin Meadows took CC Sabathia deep in the top half of the frame, but Edwin Encarnacion got the run back with a tape-measure shot in the bottom half. Encarnacion’s bomb went 435 feet, and tied the game…