NEW YORK (AP) — Rookie George Lombard Jr. scored on an incredible slide and followed with a tiebreaking. two-run homer as Cam Schlitter finished his season with an AL-best 1.95 ERA in the New York Yankees' 6-4 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night.
Lombard, who debuted on Aug. 4, had three RBIs for the Yankees (92-67), who overcame a 4-0 deficit. He hit an RBI double in the seventh, jumped over catcher Liam Hicks to score in the eighth
and followed with his fourth homer in seven games.
Austin Wells started New York’s comeback with a sixth-inning homer off Jake Woodford and Lombard cut the deficit to 4-2 in the three-run seventh.
He took third on Brady Hopkins' wild pitch and scored when another pitch bounced to the backstop. As the ball caromed back to Hicks, Lombard popped up well in front of the plate on his feet-first slide and jumped over the catcher while twisting his body in fair territory and reaching down to slap his right hand on the plate.
Paul Goldschmidt followed with a single that tied the score 4-4.
Lombard hit his seventh home run of the season in the eighth, driving a sinker from Steven Matz (5-6) into the left field second deck. Lombard briefly watched the ball soar into the seats before starting his home run trot.
Making his final start before the AL Wild Card Series next week, Schlitter allowed two runs — one earned — in three innings. The 25-year-old right-hander went 14-6 and struck out 239 over 193 2/3 innings in his first full major league season. He finished with the Yankees' third-lowest ERA for a qualified pitcher behind Spud Chandler’s 1.64 ERA in 1943 and Ron Guidry’s 1.74 ERA in 1978, according to the team.
Tampa Bay (96-63), which clinched the AL East on Tuesday, built a 4-0 lead as Junior Caminero drove in two runs to raise his RBIs total to 99. The Rays got a pair of unearned runs, helped by errors from right fielder Heliot Ramos and reliever Luis Gil.
Bradley Hanner (1-0) retired Caminero with a runner on to end the eighth and stranded a runner in the ninth for his first major league win.
Rays: RHP Freddy Peralta (9-11, 4.56, ERA) faces LHP Cristopher Sánchez (18-6, 2.92) in the opener of a three-game series in Philadelphia Friday night.
Yankees: Host Baltimore in a single-admission doubleheader on Friday.
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