Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli labeled a call at the plate in the tenth inning of the team’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays as “one of the worst moments” of umpiring he has ever seen. Following the call and Baldelli’s ejection, the Twins failed to score in the bottom of the inning and lost 3-2.

With one out and a man on third base in the top of the tenth, Whit Merrifield attempted to tag up on a fly ball to left field. Catcher Gary Sanchez received the throw in front of the plate, blocking Merrifield’s path to home and tagging him out. Following a review, however, the umpires overturned the call, arguing that Merrifield was not given an opportunity to slide into the plate. The decision gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead that would go on to decide the game.

Immediately after the call was overturned, Baldelli stormed out of the dugout and launched into a tirade against the umpires, resulting in a quick ejection. The manager remained emotional after the game speaking to reporters.

“It’s one of the worst moments I think we’ve seen of umpiring in any game I’ve ever been a part of in baseball, and I think it was pathetic what just played out,” Baldelli said.

Sanchez wasn’t as emotional as his coach after the game, but nevertheless argued that he applied a clean tag to Merrifield and that the run should not have counted.

“He slid towards me. I’m just tagging him,” Sanchez said. “I had the ball first. I think the line was open for him to slide to the side. He didn’t. It was a clean play.”

In the midst of a back-and-forth five-game series between the two American League powerhouses, the call helped the Blue Jays even the series at two wins apiece going into the final game Monday. Merrifield, the runner in the game-deciding play, acknowledged that he was familiar with the rules concerning calls at home plate when he saw Sanchez standing in his path.

“Put my head down first couple steps then looked up and tried to figure out how to get into home plate and saw Gary straddling home plate, so tried to just slide into him, straight into him best I could,” Merrifield said. “I know what the rule is; it was just a matter of if they were going to call it.”

With both teams vying for positions in the playoffs, the emotion surrounding the call was likely heightened amid hard-fought division battles. The Twins are first in the AL Central with a 57-51 record, one game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians and two ahead of the Chicago White Sox.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays’ extra-inning victory brought them within 10 games of the New York Yankees in the AL East for the first time since June. With a 60-48 record, they now have a two-game lead in the Wild Card standings.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole showed his worth in a dominating game against the Baltimore Orioles. The star pitcher helped the Yankees to a 7-2 win over Baltimore.

On Tuesday night, Cole pitched an absolute gem against the visiting Orioles. Cole threw seven innings and only allowed four hits while striking out 13 batters. It was an impressive game as Cole virtually held Baltimore scoreless.

“He just never had that lull,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters, “He was on the attack all night.”

The 13 strikeouts are the most for a pitcher so far this season. Cole generated 27 misses on 53 swings for a 51 percent whiff rate. So far, no other pitcher has generated 22 swings and misses in a game in 2021. In 2020, Cole and five other pitchers were able to record 27 swings and misses. Of those six pitchers, only Jacob deGrom did it three times.

The starting pitcher was paired with catcher Kyle Higashioka. Both are familiar with one another as they were paired together late last season. The two were pairs when Cole had an impressive 1.00 ERA in his final four outings to close out the 2020 regular season.

After the dominating performance, Boone was asked whether he would continue to pair Cole and Higashioka moving forward. “I’ll pair them up, I’m sure, a fair amount,” Boone told reporters, “But I also felt like Opening Day, Gary Sanchez and Gerrit were really good together.”

The Yankees’ manager then went on to complement the pair. “[Higashioka and Cole] have a good thing going, yin and yang and the details they go through between starts. I’m not going to go all-in on that by any means because he works well with Gary … but if it lines up that way, so be it,” Boone said of the pair.

Although it remains roughly a month away, the large interval separating today and the MLB All–Star Game hasn’t stopped fans from casting votes, hoping to promote their favorite player’s claim to participate at this year’s mid–summer classic.

As the news illustrating the current leaders during this year’s All–Star voting surfaces, the players listed as potential All–Stars will likely shuffle about, as the reports aim to only promote further voting as the deadline nears. However, this update forecasts the current players riding along the right track as they near a potential trip to Cleveland.

With that said, the current American League leaders are as follows:

C–Gary Sanchez (NYY), 1B– Luke Voit (NYY), 2B– Tommy LaStella (LAA), SS–Jorge Polanco (MIN), 3B– Alex Bregman (HOU), DH– J.D. Martinez (BOS), OF– Mike Trout (LAA), George Springer (HOU), and Austin Meadows (TB).

The National League position holders currently include:

C– Wilson Contreras (CHC), 1B– Josh Bell (PIT), 2B– Ozzie Albies (ATL), SS– Javier Baez (CHC), 3B– Nolan Arenado (COL), OF– Cody Bellinger (LAD), Christian Yelich (MIL) ,and Ronald Acuna (ATL).

Bellinger highlights the National League squad, totaling up a league–high 1,189,380 votes. Meanwhile Trout’s 737,107 mark adds up to declare him the American League’s most voted player. Newly-acquired Phillies slugger Bryce Harper positioned outside the All–Star scoreboard brings forth perhaps the ordeal’s biggest surprise, as although his numbers warrant no All–Star consideration, his popularity amongst the fans designate him as an expected All–Star candidate. Harper, along with others currently treading water on the outside looking in, need not worry. However, the All–Star Game’s new voting format allows more players to sneak into the affair than ever before, as it now consists of multiple phases where the field simply narrows as the voting proceeds.

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Perhaps longing to hold onto his position more deeply than all else stands Bell, as his potential All–Star start would be the first by a Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman since 1956. While Bell maintains a slim lead ahead Anthony Rizzo, other players such as Voit, Meadows, and Polanco cling to marginal advantages as well. Simultaneously, players such as Joc Pederson, Jose Altuve and Gio Urshela closely nip at the heals of those currently winning their position’s race.

With the MLB All–Star ballot accessible, fans still possess the capability to inflict their will upon the game’s starting roster. The initial voting phase is set to end at 4 p.m. EST on June 21. The All–Star Game itself begins July 9.

After placing him on the 10-day disabled list on Wednesday, the New York Yankees are expecting to be without catcher Gary Sánchez until at least the end of August, with the possibility of his absence extending into September. Sánchez was placed on the DL due to a strain in his right groin, the same injury which forced him to miss 20 games from June 25 to July 15.

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who announced the gravity of Sánchez’s injury to the public on Wednesday, also indicated that it is unlikely that the Yankees will attempt to pursue another catcher on the trade market before the non-waiver trade deadline on Tuesday, July 31. Instead, he expressed confidence in using backups Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka until Sánchez returns.

Cashman said, “We’ll certainly look at all those aspects [on the trade market], but seeing how other clubs have had to deal with that over the course of this season as well, I already recognize it’s a very thin position. It’s not easy to solve if there are issues there. … Thankfully, what Gary has is a solvable health issue. It’s just a timing one. We’ll just have to wait on it. Hopefully we’ll be in a better position when he returns.”

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While Sánchez is a very valuable player on the Yankees roster, his 2018 season has, so far, been the worst of his career. He’s batting for a lowly .188 batting average and a .283 on-base percentage with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs. Whether or not this can be chalked up to a nagging injury is unclear at the moment, but hopefully he can perform more so up to his standards upon his return from injury. Sánchez has also recently taken heat for not hustling down to first base on what could have been a game-tying infield single against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.

In the meantime, the Yankees remain second in the AL East to the Red Sox, but are still favorites to snag a Wild Card spot come season’s end. We’ll see how Sánchez’s absence impacts their progression toward the postseason.

Thursday night’s match up between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers saw team benches clear three times, four batters hit by pitches, eight ejections, and a whole lot of cheers from the stands.

While tensions between the two American League teams have been brewing over the course of the 2017 baseball season, they came to a head on Thursday night after the Yankee’s Tommy Kahnle tossed a pitch behind Miguel Cabrera with two outs in the sixth inning.

Kahnle was promptly thrown out of the game but while his replacement, Aroldis Chapman, was warming up, Cabrera and Yankee’s catcher Austine Romine got into a shouting match. The words stop being exchanged when the Tiger shoved Romine and the two went squabbling into the ground.

Benches cleared quickly and pitches and catchers from each team’s respective bull-pen came sprinting towards home plate.

In one of the more jarring moments from the brawl, the young Yankee Gary Sanchez can be seen throwing punches directly into Cabrera’s side while the 34-year-old veteran gets crushed by a pile of players. For his actions, Sanchez, who is hitting .278 with 27 home runs and 74 RBI this year, will likely be suspended.

Gary Sanchez cheapshoting someone. This game deteriorated quickly. pic.twitter.com/wCqrBKoFP2

— Jared Kobe (@SCviaDC) August 24, 2017

While conflicts between the team occurred before Thursday’s match up, the first spark in Detroit yesterday came when Sanchez, who homered earlier in the game, was drilled by Detroit pitcher Michael Fulmer.

“If you can’t see that Fulmer clearly hit Sanchez on purpose, there’s something wrong,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters after the game. Kahnle threw at Cabrera in retaliation for the pitch thrown at Sanchez.

Both Romine and Cabrera gave accounts of the beginning of the brawl to reporters after the game.

“[Cabrera] said, ‘You have a problem with me?’ And I said, ‘This isn’t about you,'” Romine said. “And then he pushed me. It felt like he wanted a confrontation there and I just tried to defend myself the best I could.”

Miggy told a slightly different story. “When they throw at me, it was OK. I was cool with that,” he said. “When they started arguing with the umpire, I said to Romine, ‘Calm down.'”

Among others, Cabrera, Romine, Girardi, and Kahnle were all ejected in the sixth.

An inning later, Dellin Betances hit the Tigers’ James McCann in the head, claiming the pitch to be an accident. Betances was ejected. The benches also cleared at this point.

The benches cleared a third time when Tiger’s pitcher Alex Wilson hit Todd Frazier in the leg with an intentional wild pitch.

Said Wilson after the game, “With me, hitting a guy in the leg, it’s what I have to do and that’s what I did. Fortunately for me, I know where my pitches are going, and I hit a guy in the leg today to take of my teammates and protect them.”

Wilson was ejected.

While the Yankees hold a tight lead over the Wild Card standings, the Tigers had less to lose on Thursday with a record of 55-71, good enough for fourth place in the AL Central. Despite the 10-6 loss, the Yankees took the three game series two games to one.

The Yankees head back to the Bronx on Friday night for the first of three against the Seattle Mariners and the Tigers start a three game set against the White Sox in Chicago.

No player has been suspended yet by Major League Baseball although suspensions are likely to come.

Watch the brawl in full below.

Monday night marks the return of baseball’s most marketable event: the Home Run Derby. Among the mix for the night’s clobbering is Miami’s monster Giancarlo Stanton, whom many expect to face off against one of the two Baby Bombers, Aaron Judge or Gary Sanchez, in the competition’s final. All three players are expected to launch at least fifty balls each into the seats of Marlins Park, one of the most hitter friendly stadiums in all of baseball. But the barrage of balls into the stands won’t feel at all unfamiliar to baseball fans this year because the 2017 season is on pace to have more home runs than any other season before it.

The 2017 baseball season has been one long series of home run after home run. Currently, as a league, players are on pace to hit 6,117 home runs, 424 more home runs than were hit in the 2000 season, the height of the steroid era and the current record-breaking year.

There are several accepted factors contributing to this swath of homers. One, the widespread usage of advanced analytics allows batters to know exactly where and what they should swing at in order to send a ball out. Two, players have changed their off-season and weight lifting habits in a way that has made them stronger than previous eras of baseball players – some also credit these training regimens to the rise in injury. Three, because of the increase in the velocity of pitches balls are simply being hit harder.

In addition to those three widely accepted factors, many are also starting to support the notion that the hitter’s approach at the plate has fundamentally changed. Rather than swinging down at the ball or pushing the barrel of the bat even through the strike zone, hitters are now swinging up on the ball, trying their damnedest to send it into the air.

“Hit it hard, hit it in the air,” the Cubs’ young star Kris Bryant‘s father Mike Bryant told The New York Times recently. “We want them to swing aggressively, we want them to make a big move forward into the ball, transfer their weight forward. Swing up, don’t chop down. Barrel below the hands at contact, not above. ‘Don’t hit the top of the ball, don’t throw your hands, don’t stay back’ – all the phrases that you’ve heard for years and years are totally the wrong things to teach.”

If a home run is the goal, than Bryant is right – his son has 83 through 388 career games. But should it be?

This approach to hitting is one that endorses an all-or-nothing approach. In addition to the increase in home runs, strikeouts are also on the rise. This means that while runs may come in bunches, the runs needed to win ballgames, get pushed to the back burner.

Of the teams hitting the most home runs, four of the top ten teams currently have a record below .500, suggesting that hitting the ball out doesn’t mean much for a win. Ten years ago, in 2007, only one team finished in the top ten for home runs with a sub .500 record.

Home runs, as fun as they are – and they are fun! – have seemingly become a distraction, diverting attention from the larger, and largest goal: winning.

Although I know it will never happen, let’s hope that tonight all these players get their big swings out of their system and return to the field after the All-Star break with a more balanced approach at the plate.

Aaron Judge proved to everyone on Monday night why he’s one of the greatest rookies in Major League Baseball this year by winning the Home Run Derby at Marlins Park.

Aaron Judge Home Run Derby

The 25-year-old New York Yankees outfielder — who led the major league in homers at the All-Star Break with 30 — smacked another 47 home runs in Monday’s competition, including four that traveled more than 500 feet.

“It was a blast. I enjoyed every minute of it,” Judge said, “Watching all the other guys swing. Coming here early, talking to the media. Everything about today was fantastic.”

Indeed it was a blast — both literally and figuratively — for the Yankees star, who recorded the longest homer of the Derby at approximately 513 feet.

Judge was booed by the Miami crowd of 37,027 during the pregame introductions, although the heavily pro-Marlins fans ultimately cheered for the rookie after he beat Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano in the final round.

“I was expecting it,” Judge said of the initial boos. “They’re cheering on their guy. They want their guys to win. It’s all part of the atmosphere. I enjoyed it all.”

Neither of the two Marlins players competing in the Derby got very far, however. Defending champion Giancarlo Stanton was eliminated in the first round by Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez 17-16, despite hitting two homers longer than 440 feet to earn an extra 30 seconds and pull within two. However, the Marlins outfielder only managed one long ball in his additional time, and Sanchez advanced. In 2016, Stanton smacked 61 home runs — 20 of them in the final round — to win the Derby at San Diego’s Petco Park.S

Miami’s Justin Bour started the night strong with 22 homers in the first round, including six on consecutive swings. However, Judge kept up and passed the Marlins first baseman by one homer with a few big blasts, including a 501-foot shot. The Yankees rookie struck his winner in the final seconds to reach Round 2, after one of his swings was discounted because it hit the roof.

In the semifinal round, Judge faced off against another rookie slugger: Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger, who earlier this season became the first-ever baseball player to record 27 home runs in his first career game.

However, Judge defeated Bellinger 13-12 with a 507-foot blast off the windowed back wall at Marlins Park.

The Yankees star then secured the title with his 11th homer in the final round, a cannon to straightaway center field with just under two minutes left on the clock after Sano only managed 10.

“I had no pressure going into it,” he said. “I’m a rookie. This is my first time doing it. I’ve got no expectations. I’m just going in there and have some fun.”

Judge drew praise from several major MLB stars for his performance.

“What he did was amazing,” said Seattle’s Robinson Cano, who won the event as a Yankee in 2011. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Not only the home runs, but to go opposite field that many times? He made this ballpark look like nothing. I thought I’ve seen it all before, but this guy, he’s on another level. He doesn’t even look tired.”

Fellow Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier, 22, called Judge the greatest of all time:

The youngster has clearly come a long way in the past half-season. Judge struggled last campaign and was not even sure if he would make the Yankees roster out of spring training.

“I try not (to be) really worried about what happened last year,” said Judge. “I still remember it. I look at it every day what I hit — .179. For me, just trying to take it one day at a time really helped me out.”

 Among the famous faces in attendance at Marlins Park on Monday was seven-foot Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, who caught one of Sano’s balls from his seat in left field. The 23-year-old Cameroonian and former Kansas star tweeted a photo of the ball he snagged:

Also present was San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, whom Judge admitted he admires greatly.

“He was walking into the clubhouse, and I had to stop him,” Judge said with a smile. “I said: ‘Buster, I’m a huge fan. It’s been fun watching what you’re doing.’”

Posey returned the compliment by noting how impressed he was with the six-foot-seven, 280-pound Yankees star’s agility given his size.

“It’s pretty incredible,” said Posey, the starting catcher for the National League. “I don’t think I can remember, even watching baseball growing up, seeing somebody as big as him move as well as he does.”

Judge can now begin the second half of the season with a title and a record to his name.

MIAMI, FL – JULY 10: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hugs Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League during the T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Marlins Park on July 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Logan Morrison criticized Major League Baseball on Tuesday afternoon for selecting Gary Sanchez to the Home Run Derby, and the New York Yankees catcher has retorted to the slight with a diss of his own.

Logan Morrison, who is not participating in the Derby, said Gary Sanchez Shouldn’t Compete

“Gary shouldn’t be there,” Morrison told the Tampa Bay Times on Tuesday. “Gary’s a great player, but he shouldn’t be in the Home Run Derby.”

“I remember when I had 14 home runs. That was a month and a half ago.”

Morrison has scored 24 homers thus far this season, which ties him for second in MLB. Nevertheless, he was not invited to participate in this year’s Derby.

“It’s not my fault he didn’t get selected,” Sanchez said through an interpreter.

The 24-year-old Dominican catcher has 13 home runs in an injury-riddled first half of the season and will be competing in the Derby, which will be held Monday at Marlins Park in Miami.

“What can I say?” Sanchez said, emphasizing that he did not ask to play in the Derby. “They gave me a call, gave me an invitation to participate.”

Sanchez’s teammate, Yankees rookie outfielder Aaron Judge, will also participate in the event. Judge leads the majors overall in homers with 28. The other two players who will represent the American League in the Derby are Kansas City’s Mike Moustakas and Minnesota’s Miguel Sano.

Morrison also questioned why two Yankees were chosen to compete in the Derby, and called the league’s selection system “flawed.” Nevertheless, he insisted he has no personal beef with Sanchez, who has the least homers out of all the players participating in the event.

“That was not about Gary Sanchez whatsoever,” Morrison said. “That was about a flawed system. It could be taken out of context I guess if you want, which I know (the Tampa Bay Times) didn’t, but people could read the quote and say, ‘Okay, he’s jealous of Gary because he got picked.’ It’s not about that. (Milwaukee’s) Eric Thames (23 homers) got slighted, too. How is that guy not in the Home Run Derby for the National League? It’s a flawed system. That’s it.”

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – SEPTEMBER 20: Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run off of pitcher Brad Boxberger of the Tampa Bay Rays during the seventh inning of a game on September 20, 2016 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

Could it be that the New York Yankees have tapped into the potential of not one, but two, home run hitting monsters?

On top of Aaron Judge‘s ridiculously hot start to the 2017 season, in which he has hit a league-leading 17 home runs, last year’s breakout star Gary Sanchez may be returning to 2016 form. Sanchez hit two home runs for three RBIs in last night’s Yankee win over the Toronto Blue Jays, 12-2.

Sanchez, who hit 20 homers in the final two months of the 2016 season, missed some time early on this year with a strained bicep but his been decent in his return. So far the 24-year-old has hit six home runs and 15 RBIs to the tune of a .270 average. His performance last night reminded many of the young star they saw less than six months ago.

“He can do a lot of damage,” manager Joe Girardi told reporters after the game.

When asked why Sanchez wasn’t hitting as well as he was last season, Girardi joked that last year, Sanchez wasn’t human. But, despite Sanchez’s return to human form, the manager believes that there wasn’t ever anything wrong his catcher’s approach at the plate.

“We thought his swings were better [tonight]. We thought that he just missed a few pitches here and there. We like the work that he had been doing in the cages with our coaches. His approach seemed to be getting better as well. Those are two big home runs.”

Sanchez commented on his season thus far as well. “I feel that I’m still not where I want to be, but I see improvement every day. I feel better and better and better, but I feel I can improve my timing.”

Sanchez wasn’t the only young star knocking in runs on the night. Aaron Hicks, who has replaced the injured Jacoby Ellsbury, had a career best six RBIs on the night, coming on four hits. Judge, who took the night off from sending one into the stands, had one hit, knocking in Brett Gardner – who collected his 1,000 career hit with a single in fourth inning – for the first run of the game. The Yankees would go on to score four in the first inning alone.

Benefiting from the barrage the most was Yankee’s veteran pitcher CC Sabathia, who threw 6 1/3 innings, giving up only one run. He struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter.

It was the fourth win in a row for Sabathia, who last lost on May 9 in Cincinnati. The 36-year-old pitcher is 6-2 on the year with a 4.12 ERA.

The first-place Yankees face the Blue Jays in game two of the series on Friday, June 2 at 7 p.m. EST on YES.

Just as he has on multiple other occasions, Gary Sanchez had the New York Yankees intently watching him from the edge of the dugout as he stepped up to the plate on Wednesday, and the rookie slugger delivered yet another strong outing.

Gary Sanchez Hits 2 HRs, Alex Cobb’s Elbow Untouched In Yankees’ 11-5 Win

Sanchez homered for the fourth straight game, clearing the fences twice and driving in a career-high five runs to lead the Yankees to an 11-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

The 23-year-old Dominican catcher became the quickest player to reach 19 home runs, achieving this in his 45th major league game.

“I never thought it was going to be like this,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “At the same time, you work very hard so you can have good numbers during the season.”

With the win, the Yanks moved within 1 1/2 games of the Orioles for the second American League Wild Card, also needing to surpass the Tigers, Astros and Mariners.

Sanchez blasted a three-run shot in a four-run second inning off Rays starter Alex Cobb (1-1), then added his 19th homer in 43 games on a solo drive in the sixth off reliever Justin Marks. 

Yankees righty Masahiro Tanaka earned his 4th win of the season, despite allowing a career-high four home runs. Manager Joe Girardi said Tanaka could have done better, but still complimented him for getting through his outing.

“He didn’t have a good slider and he didn’t have a good split, so when you don’t have your two main pitches, it’s pretty hard to navigate through a lineup,” Girardi said. “I give him credit for giving us six innings and buckling down and just finding a way to get through it.”

Cobb gave up seven runs on nine hits and one walk in 1 1/3 innings. His ERA increased from 2.06 to 6.16. The righty made his fourth start since returning from Tommy John surgery, and his surgically repaired elbow seemed to make it through the game fine.

“No concerns with the elbow,” Cobb said. “I’m very thankful that I’m healthy. There’s no physical questions.”

Rays manager Kevin Cash recognized his starter wasn’t at his full potential because of his recent surgery.

“In fairness to Alex, we’ve all got to allow him to go through this a little bit,” Cash said. “He’s been impressive with what he’s done for us in three starts, and we all know he’s more of the guy he’s shown up until today.”

Bobby Wilson, Evan Longorio, Brad Miller and Corey Dickerson all blasted solo homers in the third, thus setting a Rays franchise record for homers in an inning.

Miller added a second home run in the eighth– his 30th of the season– off Adam Warren to record his eighth career multi-homer game. Donovan Solano hit his first Yankees homer during a three-run ninth.

“Obviously, tonight was a slugfest, and we were on the wrong side of it,” Miller said.

Sanchez was struck on the left arm by a back swing in the ninth, but remained in the game and later said he was fine.

Tanaka (14-4) won his seventh consecutive decision. He was held to a 7-0 lead entering the bottom of the third before the Rays teed off.

Tanaka joined Zack Greinke, Collin McHugh and Justin Verlander as the only pitchers to allow four homers in an inning this season. He became the first Yankees pitcher to accomplish this since Chase Wright did it on April 22, 2007 at Boston.

The two teams will face off again on Thursday night for the finale of this three-game series at Tropicana Field. Right-hander Luis Cessa (4-2, 4.44 ERA), a rookie, will make his seventh Major League start, facing off against Rays lefty Blake Snell (5-8, 3.87 ERA), who will make his 18th career start.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – SEPTEMBER 21: Starting pitcher Alex Cobb #53 of the Tampa Bay Rays delivers a pitch during the second inning against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field on September 21, 2016 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Joseph Garnett Jr. /Getty Images)

Gary Sanchez continues to do everything in his power to help keep the New York Yankees’ postseason dream alive for one more day.

Gary Sanchez’s Three-Run HR Lifts Yankees To 5-3 Win Over Rays

The rookie catcher smacked a three-run homer off Brad Boxberger in the seventh inning, propelling the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.

Sanchez’s home run was his 17th in 42 games this season, and helped the Yankees snap a five-game losing streak.

“Amazing, incredible, impressive,” teammate Mark Teixeira said of the 23-year-old Dominican. “He’s carried us. We’re not even close to talking about a playoff berth if Gary doesn’t come up and do what he does.”

Texeira also homered and Brett Gardner drove home a run for New York. The Yankees are now 3 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the second American League Wild Card spot. The Bombers would also have to surpass the Mariners, Astros and Tigers to earn a postseason berth.

“Of course it feels good,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “Winning always feels good, especially after losing five in a row. We come here every day to work hard and to try to win ballgames. Tomorrow is another day. We have to come back and try to win tomorrow.”

No baseball player in history has had more homers than Sanchez’s 17 through their first 44 career games. Wally Berger of the 1930 Boston Braves also had 17 through 44 games.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi also took the time to praise the rookie.

“He’s meant a lot,” Girardi said after the game. “Offensively and defensively. It’s kind of fitting that he got the big hit.”

Sanchez’s blast made a winner of right-hander Luis Severino, who had four outs in relief after Yankees starter Michael Pineda struck out 11 over 5 1/3 innings. Brad Miller’s two-run triple in the third inning accounted for the damage off Pineda, who allowed five hits with a walk.

Pineda is the first Yankee ever to record 11 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings or fewer. Severino (3-8) pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win.

Even Rays manager Kevin Cash recognized what a great season Sanchez is having.

“I know Gary Sanchez is having a tremendous year,” Cash said. “I would feel that they’re going to go to [Brian] McCann, who’s a very good hitter also. Had Boxberger fallen behind, maybe you think about it a little bit more, but this is a guy who has gotten a lot of big outs for us in the past, and [we] trust him to get outs.”

Texeira hit a solo homer to left field off Drew Smyly in the fourth that cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 2-1. It was the first baseman’s 407th home run, which tied Duke Snider for 54th place on baseball’s career list.

Smyly gave up one run and four hits over six innings, and took a no-decision for the Rays. The lefty had only tossed 87 pitches before coming out.

Miller got his team-leading sixth triple in the third frame: he fired a ball off the center-field wall, and Mason Williams couldn’t catch it. This put the Rays up 2-0.

The Yankees, meanwhile, are still plagued by several different injuries, including center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury (bruised right knee), third baseman Chase Headley (back spasms) and second baseman Starlin Castro (strained right hamstring), who were all out of the lineup for the second straight game.

The two teams will next face off for the second game of a three-game series at Tropicana Field on Wednesday night. Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (13-4, 2.97 ERA) will start for the Yankees, while righty Alex Cobb 1-0, 3.06 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season. Tanaka is 6-0 with a 1.86 ERA over his past eight outings, including wins over the Rays on Aug. 13 and Sept. 10.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – SEPTEMBER 20: Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run off of pitcher Brad Boxberger of the Tampa Bay Rays during the seventh inning of a game on September 20, 2016 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

Gary Sanchez, the New York Yankees’ newest rookie catcher, was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday.

Rookie Catcher Gary Sanchez Named AL Player Of The Week

The 23-year-old Dominican, who has only played 19 games with the Yankees, has been hitting .523 with four home runs, six RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base in six games.

On Monday, Sanchez hit two home runs in a 7-5 loss to the Mariners in Seattle. With that, the youngster set a new record as a player for the Yankees.

Thanks to his impressive skills on both batting and pitching, Sanchez has now displaced Brian McCann as the Yankees’ starting catcher and has everyone in the organization excited for the future.

Major League Baseball also tweeted some of his other accomplishments, like the fact that Sanchez joins Joe DiMaggio as the only other Yankee in history to have recorded more than 50 total bases in their first 19 games.

Sanchez is also the first Yankees catcher since Thurman Munson in 1976 to win the AL Player of the Week award, and only the second ever to receive the honor.

Diamondbacks left-hander Robbie Ray, 24, won the equivalent NL award this week.

“Obviously we’ve seen what he’s done in the weeks that he’s been here and he’s been really impressive,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “Well deserved.”

Among AL leaders last week, Sanchez ranked first in batting average, slugging percentage (1.190) and on-base percentage (.600), tied for second in total bases (25) and extra-base hits (6), and tied for third in home runs and hits.

“It’s hard to believe with the catchers that we’ve had here and some of the success that we’ve had here with the catchers,” Girardi said of the fact that Sanchez was only the franchise’s second player to ever receive the award. “They’ve put up some big numbers. I think about guys that I played with or coached, I think about Jorge (Posada) and Russell (Martin), I think about Mac (Brian McCann). They’ve put up some pretty big numbers, and to never to be player of the week, that’s unusual.”

If he continues playing this way, Sanchez is sure to have a great career ahead of him.

SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 22: Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees hits a home run against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning at Safeco Field on August 22, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)