Chase Headley knows how to make a debut.
It took nearly five hours, but the Yankees finally beat the Rangers, 2-1, in 14 innings on Tuesday and they won it with a player who started the day with a different team in Chicago.
Headley, who didn’t get to Yankee Stadium until after the game started following his trade from the Padres, delivered a game-winning single in the 14th, knocking in Brian Roberts.
“It was a little chaotic, but awesome though,” Headley said. “It was a long day but a great way to finish.”
Roberts hit a one-out double before Francisco Cervelli singled to right, but Roberts got a bad jump and was held at third, setting up Headley’s heroics.
It also made a winner out of Jeff Francis, who hadn’t pitched since joining the Yankees on July 11 — or anywhere since July 2. The lefty, who came from the A’s, pitched a scoreless 14th.
“I tried to do things I needed to stay sharp,” Francis said. “Especially in a game like this, it’s of great importance to throw strikes.”
And as much as he wanted to get back on the mound, he said he spent the later innings “hoping the game ends at any time.”
Headley made that happen.
“You’ve got to want to be up in that spot,” said Headley, who entered the game as a pinch hitter for Zelous Wheeler in the eighth and had a chance to end the game in the 12th but grounded out with the bases loaded. “I’m thankful I got another opportunity. There were a lot of nerves.”
Headley wasn’t alone in his inability to deliver the key hit for much of the game.
And after David Huff gave up a homer to J.P. Arencibia in the 13th, the Yankees needed a game-tying single from Jacoby Ellsbury in the bottom of the inning. Brian McCann then grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Before Headley’s groundout in the 12th, Cervelli nearly won it when he hit a laser to third that Adrian Beltre somehow snared.
The Yankees had squandered another opportunity in the ninth when Jeter hit a one-out double, the 535th of his career, passing Lou Gehrig for first place on the Yankees’ all-time list. After Ellsbury was walked intentionally, Beltran hit into a double play.
[mlbvideo id=”34726907″ width=”610″ height=”342″ /]
Jeter’s double marked the first time the Yankees had a runner in scoring position all night.
In the 11th, Gardner and Jeter drew two-out walks before Ellsbury grounded to first to end the threat.
All of that was forgotten thanks to Headley’s single.
“It was a huge hit and a huge rally off [Joakim] Soria,” manager Joe Girardi said of the Texas closer. “We’ve had a lot of games like this and won some big ones.”
They needed this game, coming off a game on Monday in which they made five errors and had no explanations for getting shut down by Miles Mikolas, a pitcher that had previously barely been able to get major league hitters out. The bats were once again largely silent Tuesday.
In the unlikeliest of pitching duels, Chase Whitley and Nick Martinez entered with identical 5.10 ERAs, but both pitched into the sixth without giving up a run.
Then the Yankees came back with a victory with two players who had never taken the field with the team prior to Tuesday.
“Francis hasn’t thrown in I don’t know how long,” Girardi said. “[Headley] came into the dugout maybe at 7:30 and introduced himself. … He’s had a whirlwind of a day.”
So did the Yankees.