For the 3rd straight day, Mariano Rivera came on in the 9th.
On the first day, the Rays pounded him for 4 runs. Fans worried that Rivera was slipping. Any time a division rival tags Mariano and steals a win, Yankee fans have a right to be worried.
On the second day, Mariano returned. It was stressful to watch. Mariano retired the first two, which included a swinging strikeout. Having issued an intentional walk to Longoria in the first game, Mariano pitched to him with 2 outs in the top of the 9th. The result: a lame grounder to Cano to finish off the Rays and set up the series finale to determine the winner.
On the third day, the series finale, Mariano came to the mound again to secure the series win and reclaim his rightful title as "The Rays' Daddy". Mo made short work of Kapler and Joyce, who was asked to pinch hit. Then BJ Upton, the young star center fielder who helped lead Tampa Bay to the division title and a birth in the big show last year, came to the plate. And Mariano Rivera, unleashing a blazing, rising fastball down the middle, blew Upton away for the final out, clinching the series, sending the Rays below .500 again, and moving the Yankees into first place, where they belong. (You can see Mariano's final pitch in the video recap here.)
On the second day, Mariano returned. It was stressful to watch. Mariano retired the first two, which included a swinging strikeout. Having issued an intentional walk to Longoria in the first game, Mariano pitched to him with 2 outs in the top of the 9th. The result: a lame grounder to Cano to finish off the Rays and set up the series finale to determine the winner.
On the third day, the series finale, Mariano came to the mound again to secure the series win and reclaim his rightful title as "The Rays' Daddy". Mo made short work of Kapler and Joyce, who was asked to pinch hit. Then BJ Upton, the young star center fielder who helped lead Tampa Bay to the division title and a birth in the big show last year, came to the plate. And Mariano Rivera, unleashing a blazing, rising fastball down the middle, blew Upton away for the final out, clinching the series, sending the Rays below .500 again, and moving the Yankees into first place, where they belong. (You can see Mariano's final pitch in the video recap here.)
That was not the "Mariano of old." That was the Mariano of Now.
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