http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/21/sports/baseball/new-york-yankees-tampa-bay-rays-gary-sanchez.html 2016-09-21 05:17:30 Gary Sanchez’s Homer Gives Yankees a Win They Desperately Need Sanchez crushed a breaking ball over the middle of the plate, fueling a comeback against the Rays that ended a five-game skid and gave some life to the Yankees’ faint playoff hopes. === ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The With two outs and runners on second and third, Hickey and Boxberger needed to make a decision: Would they pitch to Gary Sanchez, the rookie slugger who has been terrorizing pitchers since the The Rays chose to pitch to Sanchez, and he left them with regrets. Boxberger’s first pitch, a breaking ball, hung tantalizingly over the middle of the plate, and Sanchez did what he seems to be doing with just about every pitch these days — he crushed it. Sanchez’s three-run homer to left-center field fueled a 5-3 comeback victory that the Yankees desperately needed, ending a five-game losing streak and giving some life to their faint playoff hopes. They began the day four and a half games behind Baltimore and Toronto, which were tied for the two wild-card berths. The Yankees also trailed Detroit, Seattle and Houston. While Sanchez was not a secret — he now has 17 homers and 33 R.B.I. since his recall on Aug. 3 — perhaps the Rays were worried about trying to intentionally walk him again. The last time they tried, less than two weeks ago at Yankee Stadium, Sanchez swung at a ball that came too close to the plate and nearly hit it out before it was caught at the warning track. Or perhaps they were lulled into complacency. Sanchez had looked somewhat harmless until that point, with a strikeout, a pop-up and a walk in his three at-bats. Butler, meanwhile, has been hot since the Yankees signed him Thursday after he was released by Oakland. He doubled twice on Tuesday and is 6 for 12. Both his doubles came with a runner on base, but neither Aaron Hicks — who was activated earlier in the day from the disabled list, where he nursed a hamstring injury — nor Sanchez was able to score. The return of Hicks was a boon for a team that on Saturday lost three starters who remained unavailable on Tuesday: second baseman Starlin Castro (hamstring), third baseman Chase Headley (back) and center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury (knee). Headley and Ellsbury were hopeful of returning Wednesday. While the lineup on Tuesday once again included three players who had been added to the roster in the last week, Manager Joe Girardi dismissed a question about whether it was important for next season to finish on a good note. “I don’t think any of us are ready to give up on the season,” Girardi said. “I think it’s important that we put together some wins here and we put a streak together so we stay relevant. I think that’s the most important thing as we move forward here and give our selves a chance the last week.” Frustration had mounted during their recent skid — they had lost seven of their previous eight games — as the Yankees found more and more ways to lose games. It looked as if this would be just another episode. Pitcher Michael Pineda’s performance was like so many this season, when he has often dominated but ultimately been hindered by one big hit. On Tuesday, it came in the third. Logan Forsythe singled with one out, and Evan Longoria reached on a two-out infield single when third baseman Donovan Solano made a nice play to glove the ball but threw high to first. Brad Miller then followed by driving a 3-2 pitch from Pineda to center field that Mason Williams could not haul in as he leapt and crashed into the wall. Both runners scored, and Miller reached third. Pineda did little wrong otherwise. He allowed only two other hits, a soft liner down the right-field line to Longoria that went for a first-inning double and a ground single to right by Miller, who would be Pineda’s last batter. He went through a stretch when eight consecutive outs were by strikeout. He finished with 11. But the Yankees slowly worked their way back. Mark Teixeira hit a solo homer off the left-hander Drew Smyly in the fourth inning to close to within 2-1. The Yankees then tied it in the seventh. Ronald Torreyes singled off Boxberger, and with one out, Williams singled him to second. Gardner followed by singling on a 2-2 pitch to right, scoring Torreyes to tie the score at 2-2 and sending Williams racing to third. Gardner then stole second, but Hicks struck out. That brought Hickey out of the dugout for a decision that kept the bat in Sanchez’s hands, allowing him to keep the Yankees alive.