The New York Yankees have hit a major-league best 72 home runs this season. What they have not been able to do with regularity is get a base hit when they need one. The Yankees changed that trend Tuesday night, coming back from a 4-1 eighth-inning deficit for a walk-off 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees scored two runs in the eighth inning and won the game with two in the ninth, without hitting a home run. Mark Teixeira got the game-winning hit, ripping a shot off the glove of Blue Jays' first baseman Juan Rivera that scored Curtis Granderson from second base.
"It was great to do that in front of our home crowd," Teixeira said. "We haven't done that too much this year."
The Yankees' ninth-inning rally began when pinch-hitter Jorge Posada double off Toronto closer Frank Francisco with one out. Chris Dickerson pinch-ran and moved to third on a groundout by Derek Jeter. Granderson, who went 4-for-5, singled to score Dickerson and tie the game. Granderson stole second, then scored when Teixeira's hit glanced off Rivera's glove and trickled into short right field.
CC Sabathia (5-3) pitched the Yankees first nine-inning complete game in more than two years to get the victory. Sabathia also had the last one, May 8, 2009 against Baltimore.
Trailing 4-1, the Yankeed got within 4-3 in the eighth inning on an RBI double by Robinson Cano and a run-scoring single from Russell Martin.