Francisco Cervelli got the whipped-cream treatment, but a case could be made for Brett Gardner as an equally worthy recipient.
That is what it has come to for the Yankees. Two young backups who didn’t even start last night’s game helped steal a victory and add to the team’s aura of invincibility.
With Cervelli and Gardner the unlikely heroes, the Yanks celebrated another wild ninth inning at the Stadium and a 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays.
Two days after stealing third base and scoring on a wild throw to give the Yankees the go-ahead run in a victory over the Angels, Gardner singled leading off the ninth against Toronto reliever Jason Frasor and stole second to set up the win. After Derek Jeter advanced him to third with a groundout, Cervelli, the rookie catcher, made his team forget about suspended Jorge Posada for a night by delivering the game-winning single. The Yankees secured their 14th walk-off victory this season, three short of the franchise record set in 1943.
“I just wanted to hit the ball hard, and with Gardner on third base anything can happen,” Cervelli said after the Yanks’ playoff magic number dwindled to four, thanks in part to Oakland’s victory over Texas. The Yankees’ AL East magic number is 11.
Only 10 days removed from the disabled list, Gardner has become a Bronx cult hero. He entered last night’s game as an eighth-inning defensive replacement and led off the ninth. He singled, and immediately had stolen base on his mind.
Hideki Matsui’s two-run homer off lefty Scott Downs in the eighth had tied the game, bringing hope to what remained of the 46,036 in attendance after the Yankees’ bats had gone silent following a productive first inning.
“I had a good feeling we were going to win that game as soon as Matsui hit that home run,” Gardner said. “With the guys we have in the bullpen, we’re going to score some runs, so as long as those guys can hold the other team down we feel pretty good about it.”
Now comes a six-game road swing through Seattle and Anaheim, during which the Yankees hope to finally put their foot to the throats of the pesky Red Sox in the division race. The Red Sox trail the Yankees by five games in the loss column and still have three games remaining at the Stadium this season.
“I believe this is going to go down to the end,” manager Joe Girardi said. “This road trip is very important — as important as any road trip we’ve had.”
Chad Gaudin gave the Yankees a second straight solid start by limiting Toronto to three runs on seven hits and one walk over 5 2/3 innings. Last Tuesday against the Rays, the right-hander allowed one run over six innings and received a no-decision. Gaudin has taken a no-decision in each of his four Yankees’ starts.
Brian Bruney, who has increased role with David Robertson sidelined by elbow problems, struggled in the seventh inning, allowing a run on Adam Lind’s sacrifice fly after Marco Scutaro doubled leading off the inning and Aaron Hill singled.
The Blue Jays had taken a 3-2 lead in the sixth against Gaudin, getting an RBI groundout from Rod Barajas after Lyle Overbay’s double had moved Vernon Wells to third base. Damaso Marte replaced Gaudin with two outs in the inning and struck out Travis Snider to escape a first-and-third threat.
Gaudin had a shaky third inning, allowing a leadoff homer to Jose Bautista and RBI groundout to Lind, but soon got rolling again. Overbay’s double in the fourth and Hill reaching on Jeter’s error in the fifth accounted for Toronto’s only base runners over the next two innings.