SAN DIEGO (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton and the Bronx Bombers made themselves proper at dwelling in Petco Park on a heat October night in Southern California.

Stanton hit a grand slam within the ninth inning for New York’s fourth dwelling run of the sport, and the Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-Three on Monday within the opener of their AL Division Collection at Petco Park.

Stanton homered to straightaway heart area on a 2-2 pitch from John Curtiss. The slugger took a number of steps along with his bat nonetheless in his arms as he watched the ball sail via the nice San Diego night air earlier than starting his trot.

Just a few followers chanted ”Let’s Go Yankees!” from a balcony on an workplace constructing simply past proper area of the principally empty ballpark.

”That SoCal air, man. That SoCal climate. That is what it’s,” stated Stanton, who’s from Los Angeles and gained the Residence Run Derby at Petco Park in 2016. He spent his first eight seasons with the Marlins and has 9 homers in 20 video games at Petco Park.

Kyle Higashioka, one other SoCal native, and Aaron Decide hit the tying and go-ahead dwelling runs off Blake Snell within the fifth to again winner Gerrit Cole. Clint Frazier hit a powerful shot into the second deck in left within the third.

The Bronx Bombers grew to become the primary staff in American League historical past to hit a grand slam in back-to-back playoff video games. Gio Urshela related in Sport 2 of the first-round sweep in opposition to Cleveland. Two NL groups have performed it, the 1977 Dodgers and 2011 Diamondbacks.

Decide stated he is comfy in San Diego, and his mother and father have been on the sport.

”That is the primary sport my mother and father have been in a position to come to as nicely. That is big. My dad for positive would not miss greater than a month at a time, and we’re in October now,” he stated.

Sport 2 within the best-of-five collection is Tuesday night time, with 21-year-old rookie Deivi Garcia set to develop into the youngest Yankees pitcher to make a postseason begin. Tyler Glasnow goes for the Rays.

Starting with this spherical, all postseason collection have been moved to impartial websites due to the coronavirus.

Story continues

The Yankees set a franchise file by hitting at the least three dwelling runs in three consecutive postseason video games. They’re the second staff to do it in baseball historical past after the Rays did it in 4 straight in 2008.

Stanton has performed in solely 41 video games over the previous two seasons due to accidents.

”I really feel nice for him as a result of I do know that is what I envisioned for him final yr,” Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone stated. ”He is such a harmful hitter in the course of our lineup. When he is controlling the strike zone, he is as lethal as anybody.”

New York has 11 homers in three playoff video games this yr. They’re probably the most for any staff within the first three video games of a postseason.

Groups which have outhomered the opposition are 13-Zero in these playoffs.

Tampa Bay dominated the contentious regular-season collection, going 8-2 in opposition to the rival Yankees and profitable the AL East by seven video games over second-place New York.

With the calendar flipped to October, it was a special story of their first postseason assembly.

”They’ll hit, there isn’t any secret in that,” Rays supervisor Kevin Money stated. ”There’s nothing that was sudden with them. They’ve simply acquired some guys again which are more healthy. There have been a handful of gamers who did not have constant reps in opposition to us or all through the 60-game season attributable to accidents. They appeared wholesome tonight.”

The ball was flying for the Rays as nicely in opposition to Cole in downtown San Diego. Randy Arozarena homered within the first and Ji-Man Choi muscled an opposite-field, two-run shot within the fourth into the Rays bullpen in left-center to offer Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead.

Cole went six innings, permitting three runs and 6 hits whereas putting out eight and strolling two. The Yankees’ ace was pitching about 100 miles south of the place he grew up in Newport Seaside earlier than taking part in at UCLA. Cole beat Tampa Bay twice in final yr’s ALDS with Houston.

Snell, the 2018 AL Cy Younger Award winner, was the loser. He pitched 5 innings and allowed 4 runs on six hits whereas putting out 4 and strolling two.

New York’s Aaron Hicks, who’s from San Pedro within the Los Angeles space, hit a sacrifice fly within the first and an RBI single within the ninth.

Arozarena tied it within the backside of the primary earlier than Frazier gave the Yankees the lead within the second. Choi’s shot within the fourth put Tampa Bay forward 3-2.

Higashioka, who’s from Huntington Seaside in Orange County, hit a line shot into the seats in left main off the fifth. Decide, who’s from Northern California, lined his shot into the left-field seats as nicely.

It was Decide’s 10th profession postseason homer.

DEBUT

Tampa Bay reliever Shane McClanahan grew to become the primary pitcher in baseball historical past to make his massive league debut in a postseason sport.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: Added All-Star OF Austin Meadows to the roster, however he wasn’t within the beginning lineup. He had been out since Sept. 18 with a left indirect pressure. Meadows struck out as a pinch-hitter within the seventh.

PETCO PARK MEMORIES

Coincidentally, Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin was a slugger for the Padres when Petco Park opened in 2004 with huge outfield dimensions. He and Ryan Klesko groused about how they’d crush a ball that may be a homer in different parks, solely to look at it go for a protracted out. Nevin as soon as hit a double that he thought ought to have been a homer. After reaching second, he gestured angrily towards common supervisor Kevin Towers’ field. The 2 later had phrases within the clubhouse.

The fences have been moved in previous to the 2013 season.

UP NEXT

Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka was pushed again to Sport Three in favor of the 5-foot-9 Garcia (3-2, 4.98 ERA).

Rays: The 6-foot-Eight Glasnow (5-1, 4.08) goes for his second playoff victory after beating the Blue Jays 8-2 to finish a two-game sweep within the first spherical. He has gained six straight selections and 4 consecutive begins courting again to the common season.

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