How the Grish stole the win: OF's clutch grab backs 'bulldog' relief

ST. PETERSBURG -- The keys to making a game-saving catch, as Trent Grisham recounted late on Wednesday evening, are all contained within the finer details. Peering in at Yandy Díaz in the batter’s box, he shaded a few steps to his left, knowing that the Rays’ leadoff hitter likes to use the right side of the field.

That pre-pitch setup made all the difference in a game decided by the slimmest of margins. Getting a good jump at the crack of the bat, Grisham glided deep toward the outfield wall, stealing an extra-base hit that helped to preserve the Yankees’ 2-1 victory at Tropicana Field.

“I got a pretty good read, but it was hit a lot better than I thought initially,” Grisham said. “I had to adjust course a little bit, but I was happy to make the play.”

A two-time Gold Glover, Grisham covered 61 feet in 3.9 seconds to pocket Díaz’s 106.3 mph rocket, part of a four-out save for closer Clay Holmes. Had he started further away, Grisham might have been scooping up what Díaz said he believed would be an “easy” two-run double.

“I knew he hit it pretty well off the bat,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It looked like Grish, out of my eyeline, knew he got a good break on it like he normally does. So I wasn’t sure, but pretty shortly in, I felt like he had a bead on it.”

That wrapped “a big day for Grish on both sides of the ball,” as Boone would say. Grisham drove in the Yankees’ only runs against Zach Eflin, stroking a second-inning RBI double and lifting a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.

If that feels like an uncommon formula for a Yankees win, well, it has been. Wednesday marked the Yanks’ first victory without hitting a homer since June 18, losing their previous five such contests. The Yanks have won just seven of their last 24 games overall.

“It’s been a rough stretch, and I think we’re all aware of that,” said starter Marcus Stroman. “The work ethic from every guy, the confidence, hasn’t changed one bit. It’s one of those spurts in a long season of playing 162 games. It was a whole team effort tonight.”

Indeed, it also proved to be a banner night for the Bombers’ bullpen, which Boone described as “the ultimate bend but don’t break, playing the nickel defense.”

The first call was made in the fifth inning, as Stroman handed over the baseball and a bases-loaded headache to the bullpen.

In strode Tim Hill, the sidewinding veteran left-hander, who promptly extinguished the jam by striking out Josh Lowe on three pitches and inducing a Randy Arozarena flyout.

Boone used the term “bulldog” to describe Hill’s work. Those are the types of situations that saw leaks spring during a slide that has lasted nearly a month. Perhaps Wednesday’s game will restore some confidence.

“I think it just boosts the morale,” said Hill, who has pitched to a 2.38 ERA in eight appearances since being signed by the Yankees on June 20. “It's good for the boys.”

Said Stroman: “That’s huge. That’s one of those moments in a game where it can go either way. To get the punchy and the out, that’s incredible. It allowed us to take that into the rest of the game.”

Luke Weaver needed just one pitch to generate an inning-ending double play in the sixth inning, then escaped another jam after issuing a pair of seventh-inning walks, retiring Lowe on a flyout and striking out Arozarena.

“Getting that double play ball on one pitch was huge,” Boone said. “He didn’t back down, didn’t flinch, and did what he’s been doing all year.”

In all, Yanks hurlers held Tampa Bay hitless in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position, stranding 12 men on base. Rays manager Kevin Cash said it “felt like they were making some big pitches with two outs just about every inning.”

“I think it’s big to win a game like that -- just really nitty-gritty,” Grisham said. “Well-fought the whole way and close the whole way. For our pitchers to come up big in all those situations, I think that’s going to do a lot for us going forward.”