Chase Headley has seen his fair share of ugliness this season.
From the team’s ugly start, to his own dreadful first month at the plate, to the Yankees’ inability to stay above .500, there’s plenty from which to choose.
Still, it was Monday’s gut-wrenching loss in the rain that really stood out to the third baseman.
“Monday might have been the toughest loss I’ve dealt with in my career,” Headley said after sliding home with the winning run on a passed ball in the bottom of the ninth in a 2-1 win over the Rangers on Thursday. “To go from a game you feel like you have in hand and that you’re gonna win and then the rain delay and crazy things happen and you lose. We bounced back in a big way.”
That’s putting it mildly.
One day after two ninth-inning homers sparked a stunning comeback victory over the best team in the American League, the Yankees relied on an even more unorthodox method on Thursday in The Bronx.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Headley on third, Texas catcher Robinson Chirinos wasn’t able to handle a cutter from Tony Barnette. The ball, which was nowhere near the dirt and that Chirinos tried to backhand, deflected off his glove and rolled all the way to the backstop.
Headley, after initially taking a step back to third, raced home and dove in just ahead of Chirinos’ desperate throw to Barnette.
It was a stark turnaround for a team that looked like it was reeling less than 24 hours earlier and now heads on a 10-game road trip beginning Friday in San Diego at 39-39 — more confident than it’s been in a while.
“You feel a lot better about your club,” Joe Girardi said when asked about his emotions after the two improbable victories.
Only time will tell whether the victories lead to sustained winning that gets the Yankees back into the AL East race, but it’s better than the alternative.
Michael Pineda continued his strong June, shaking off a leadoff homer by Shin-Soo Choo to give up just one run over six innings and left with the game tied 1-1 thanks to a homer by Didi Gregorius in the fifth.
Pineda struck out 12, more than he had in any game since he fanned 16 against Baltimore on May 10, 2015.
“It probably was his best start of the year,” Girardi said. “He’s on a good roll right now.”
Dellin Betances chipped in with a scoreless seventh before Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman kept the game knotted as the Yankees’ offense left the bases loaded in the seventh.
In the ninth, Headley started with a walk and moved to second on a Gregorius bunt. Aaron Hicks walked and both runners advanced on a Starlin Castro grounder to first.
With runners on second and third and Jacoby Ellsbury at the plate, Barnette threw the fateful cut fastball.
“It was up in the zone, so you don’t expect it to bounce,” Headley said. “But once you go, there’s no going back, so you just hope you’re able to make it.”
It gave the Yankees their first win on a passed ball since April 27, 2012, when Derek Jeter scored with Alex Rodriguez hitting against the Tigers.
And the last time the Yankees had consecutive walk-off wins was almost exactly a year ago with victories over the Rays last July 3 and 4.
Those games got the Yankees into first place in the division, a spot they haven’t sniffed all season.
Girardi would like the end of this series be the turning point of the season.
“I hope it is,” the manager said.