The New York Yankees finally broke out of their brutal slump on Wednesday, getting a 3-2 win against the Texas Rangers to avoid a sweep down in the Lone Star State. During their recent slump, the Yankees have suffered from bullpen struggles and errors up and down the roster.
That wasn’t the case on Wednesday against the Rangers. While they did still record an error, the bullpen was rock solid and closed the game out efficiently.
Closer David Bednar, who the Yankees acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline, was the star of the show. He entered the game in the eighth inning and picked up a five-out save, surviving traffic on the bases in both innings.
After the game, Bednar was thrilled to have just gotten his first save as a Yankee.
David Bednar: “I just wanted to finish that one out.”#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/MpgrMU1i1D
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“Honestly, I think I was ready for the phone to ring at any point in the game,” Bednar said. “Just ready to go whenever. Whenever my name as called, I was ready to get as many outs as possible.”
Bednar was nearly pulled from the game with two outs in the ninth inning and two men on base. After striking out the first two batters of the inning, Bednar gave up a walk to Corey Seager and a single to Marcus Semien, putting the winning run over on first and slugger Adolis Garcia coming up to the plate. However, the closer told Aaron Boone that he wanted to finish out the match and he did just that, getting Garcia to strike out swinging after a lengthy at-bat.
With this win, the Yankees can at least salvage something from a disastrous road trip before heading back home to take on the Houston Astros in a three-game series beginning on Friday. The Yankees finished 1-5 on this road trip, which included series against the Miami Marlins and the Rangers, and now they will get a chance to turn things around back at Yankee Stadium.
This performance from Bednar also may have been enough to give him the upper hand in the race to be New York’s closer during the back half of the season. Devin Williams was recently taken out of that role, and now it may be Bednar’s to lose after he shut down the Rangers on Wednesday.
