It was the eighth inning, and the Yankees were down 2-1 in Wednesday’s game. No runs had been scored since the first inning, but that was all about to change. Derek Jeter started off the inning by getting hit by a pitch, then Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira followed with singles. With the bases loaded and no outs, Granderson fouled out to third, and then it was Raul Ibanez’s turn at the plate.
However, Ibanez was 0-for-3 on the day, so pinch hitter Jayson Nix was called on in his place. Seattle responded with their second pitching change of the inning, taking out Lucas Luetge for reliever Shawn Kelley.
It didn’t help.
Nix, who is 2-for-3 this season as a pinch hitter, proceeded to double to deep left center, batting in three runs and putting the Yankees ahead. They never looked back.
Nix told the Associated Press, “Really all I wanted to do was hit a sac fly. I didn’t want to do too much. I just wanted to get one run. I think that helped because I wasn’t trying to do too much.”
With their road trip now complete, the Yankees head back to New York to face the Red Sox on Friday at 7:05 p.m.
