Brett Gardner, just weeks away from turning 38 years old, has been laboring towards the end of what has been a memorable and accomplished career with the Yankees.
But Friday night offered a chance for the 14-year veteran and the longest tenured Yankee to come through and deliver a much-needed win and another opportunity to gain ground in the playoff hunt. For the ninth time in his career and the first time since 2017, Gardner capitalized with a game-winning hit, lining a single up the middle to give the Yanks a 3-2 win in 11 innings, their fourth straight victory.
“It definitely felt good to be able to come through,” Gardner said. “I feel like every game now has that must-win atmosphere, and we take that attitude into each and every game with the hole we’ve dug ourselves and the amount of season that we have left and where we are in the standings. Definitely a good moment for me, a good moment for us to come through for the guys and pull one out.”
Those good moments have been sparing for Gardner in what could be his final season. He is batting .199 for the season with four home runs, and has seen his playing time decrease with the arrival of Joey Gallo and other options like Greg Allen or Jonathan Davis being used in the outfield. But Gardner’s name was called in the seventh to pinch hit for Davis, and after falling behind 0-2, he battled back to work the count full and draw a walk, eventually coming across to score the tying run.
Four innings later, Gardner was again behind 0-2, but worked it back even to 2-2 before sending everyone home.
“It all starts with having a plan and approach and preparing before and during the game to come in and be ready for whatever situation I may face,” Gardner said. “Today was a game where I wasn’t in the lineup, but ended up getting three at-bats, and every one of them it seemed like with the game on the line. Just have to stay focused and stay ready, and tonight things ended up in our favor and it worked out for us.”
Despite his offensive struggles this season, Gardner showed Friday that he is still able to work the count and put together tough at-bats, reminiscent of one of his top Yankee moments back in game five of the 2017 ALDS, when he worked a 12-pitch at-bat against Cleveland closer Cody Allen before lining a two-run single to all but seal the Yanks’ victory in the series.
While Gardner has been in that spot many times before, he doesn’t believe the advantage shifts into his favor with each pitch that he sees. But he did just enough to muscle a line drive over second base to keep the Yankees’ winning streak alive.
“He obviously got ahead of me 0-2 real quick, and I battled back to I think 2-2, but you’re talking about a guy out there who pushes it into the upper 90s and has some good offspeed stuff that he mixes in with it,” Gardner said. “I think when the situation is like that, I like to think the pitcher has a little bit more of an advantage, but just trying to hang in there and get a good pitch to hit. That last one, I was able to sneak it up the middle, and with Joey’s speed on second, we were able to score pretty easily.”
Gardner’s role with the Yankees has changed in what looks like the final year of his career. The last link to the team’s last World Series is likely on his way out, but the team will still call on him in later innings when a tough at-bat is needed, like it was on Friday.
“He’s gonna be so important for us moving forward,” Aaron Boone said. “Needless to say, he’s so revered and respected in there, so I think this one makes it a little more special…I know that room is really excited about that.”
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