? @BringerofRain20 WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM ? pic.twitter.com/bQHZEpqlw2
— MLB (@MLB) August 18, 2022
The Yankees desperately needed that. So did Josh Donaldson.
The struggling third baseman blasted a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning Wednesday to lift the reeling Bombers to a dramatic come-from-behind 8-7 win over the Rays at Yankee Stadium.
Donaldson’s blast came after Aroldis Chapman gave up three runs with two outs in the top half of the frame to give Tampa Bay a 7-4 lead. Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo forced extra innings with a solo shot in the eighth inning.
The Yankees snapped a three-game losing skid with the win. They had dropped six of their last seven and 12 of their last 15 entering the night.
“You go 22 innings without a run? That is unacceptable,” Stephen A. Smith said earlier Wednesday in a viral rant on ESPN First Take, referencing the back-to-back shutout losses to the Red Sox and Rays on Sunday and Monday.
“Unacceptable from the Yankees. You’re looking at their payroll, you’re looking at their expectations … to lose is one thing. It’s the way they’re going down. You’re going down like straight garbage.
“The Yankees, you look like trash right now. You look like flat-out trash. You’re worse than how it smells from the sewers in the Bronx. And I was born in the Bronx. I know what the hell I’m talking about. I’ve taken the D-train many times in my life. I’ve got family on Webster Avenue, for crying out loud. I know what I’m talking about. And you’re straight garbage. There’s more expected from the New York Yankees.”
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
