Gästebuch » — Cameron Maybin realizes his time in pinstr

NEW YORK (AP) ipes may be running out.As Aaron Judge nears his return from the injured list Jose Altuve Jersey , Maybin is making it difficult for the Yankees to think about cutting ties.Maybin homered again with his roster spot in doubt, Edwin Encarnación went deep for his first hit with the Yankees and New York beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 Tuesday night to extend its AL East lead to 2 1/2 games.Article continues below ...“I’m thankful that I’m here,” Maybin said. “I’m enjoying every moment of it and I want to continue to be a piece of the puzzle.”Maybin clobbered Oliver Drake’s fastball into the second deck in left, extending New York’s lead to 5-3 in the seventh. It was Maybin’s career-best fourth straight game with a home run and extended New York’s homer streak to 21 games.“He’s been so awesome to have and to have in that room and what he means to those guys already and just how well he’s performed for us,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I love the player.”The 32-year-old Maybin is hitting .315 since being acquired by the banged-up Yankees in April, but he still may get cut when Judge makes an expected from an oblique injury in the coming days.“As long as I’m here and as long as I get an opportunity to step on the field with a group of guys who I feel like are my brothers, I’m going to continue to go out and play hard each and every day and leave it all out there,” Maybin said.Playing through a mist in a contest that started over an hour late due to rain, New York won its fourth straight and has taken 9 of 12 against the second-place Rays dating to last season.Gary Sanchez had two RBIs and J.A. Happ (7-3) pitched two-run ball over five innings. Giancarlo Stanton returned from the injured list to play right field and reached into the seats in foul territory for a key out in the second.Ryne Stanek recorded four outs as the opener, allowing one run on Sanchez’s sacrifice fly. Ryan Yarbrough followed and retired nine of ten, his only blip a check-swing single by Luke Voit before being lifted with one out in the fifth.The Yankees then broke through against Chaz Roe (0-3) behind RBI singles from DJ LeMahieu, Voit and Sanchez to take a 4-2 lead.“Felt that was a good spot for Chaz to come in,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.Acquired from Seattle on Saturday, Encarnación’s first hit in pinstripes came in grand fashion, clubbing his AL-leading 22nd homer off Andrew Kittredge in the eighth.The team was able to retrieve the home run ball from a fan and give it to Encarnación as a keepsake.Happ struck out three and is 6-0 in his last eight starts http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , dating to May 9.Aroldis Chapman fanned the side in the ninth on twelve pitches for his 19th save in 21 chances.Tampa Bay tied it with three consecutive one-out singles in the second but stranded two in scoring position when Stanton reached into the crowd to snag Joey Wendle’s foul fly. Avisail Garcia singled home a run an inning later.The Rays lost back-to-back road games for just the second time this season.Stanton was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in his first big league action since Mar. 31. The former NL MVP was activated from the injured list before the game.“It felt good, better that we got the win,” Stanton said. “I didn’t swing at the best pitches tonight.”BULLPEN SHUFFLETampa Bay called up Kittredge from Triple-A Durham, optioning fellow reliever Jake Faria to make room.TRAINER’S ROOMRays: INF Matt Duffy (left hamstring tightness) was scheduled to participate in batting practice with the GCL Rays Tuesday and also bat in a simulated game. … RHP Tyler Glasnow (right forearm strain) threw his first bullpen session since being injured May 10. He is expected to throw another on Friday. … 3B/1B Yandy Diaz (right hamstring tightness) is a “little nicked up”, according to Cash. He is day-to-day.Yankees: RHP Domingo German (left hip flexor strain) played catch on flat ground both Monday and Tuesday. … RHP Dellin Betances (right shoulder impingement) still has discomfort from a lat strain and is unsure when he’ll resume throwing. … RHP Luis Severino (rotator cuff inflammation in right shoulder) has begun throwing up to 105 feet and expects to throw off a mound next week. … Judge (left oblique strain) was 1 for 2 with a home run for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He could return as soon as Friday. … LHP Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery) threw live batting practice to minor league hitters but stopped after just 15 pitches. “He walked off. He had a little discomfort, so hoping it’s nothing more than just not feeling great on a particular day,” Boone said.UP NEXTA battle of Cy Young Award winning left-handers is set for Wednesday afternoon’s series finale, with Rays ace Blake Snell (4-5, 3.70 ERA) facing off against veteran CC Sabathia (3-4, 4.42 ERA). Winning the wild-card game doesn't guarantee postseason success in Major League Baseball, but it does strike up important doses of confidence and momentum moving into the divisional series.Since the wild-card game was introduced in 2012, two winners have gone on to play in the World Series, with the 2014 San Francisco Giants being the only wild-card winner to win a championship.The wild-card winners from the past two years have experienced a mixed bag of results, as both American League winners advanced to the ALCS, while the victors out of the National League won one combined game in the NLDS.All four participants in the 2018 wild-card games have been at this stage before George Springer Jersey , but only the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees won the winner-takes-all contest in previous seasons. Wild-Card ScheduleTuesday, October 2Colorado at Chicago Cubs (8 p.m. ET, ESPN, WatchESPN or ESPN app) Wednesday, October 3Oakland at New York Yankees (8 p.m. ET, TBS, Watch TBS app) PicksCubs over RockiesOn paper, there are plenty of factors suggesting the Chicago Cubs will get another shot at the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS.The Cubs have home-field advantage for Tuesday's NL wild-card game, carry a plethora of postseason experience from winning the World Series in 2016 and have Jon Lester starting against the Colorado Rockies.In case you needed anything else to sway your pick, the Cubs have experience from winning a wild-card game in 2015, while the Rockies came up short a year ago in Arizona.However, it's that defeat from 2017 and the loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West tiebreaker Monday that could give the Rockies the necessary motivation to rally around each other and upset the Cubs at Wrigley Field.In order for the Rockies to achieve success, Charlie Blackmon must set the tone at the top of the order and stop Lester from getting into a rhythm on the mound.Rick Scuteri/Associated PressAlthough his regular-season batting average slipped under .300 for the first time since 2015, Blackmon recorded 314 total bases, 182 hits and scored 119 runs.It doesn't matter how Blackmon reaches base in the first inning Evan Gattis Jersey , he just needs to be standing on first base with the opportunity to be advanced.If the Rockies are able to put a few runners on base in the first few innings, their power hitters like Nolan Arenado should drive in a run or two.The Cubs won't be facing a postseason legend, but they'll need to follow a similar game plan at the plate by placing runners on base early and often.Chicago is third in the MLB in batting average and on-base percentage, but it managed three hits against the Brewers Monday.Kamil Krzaczynski/Associated PressAs long as the top of the Cubs' order gets to Kyle Freeland, they should set up a rematch with the Brewers, but if things go the way they did Monday, it might be a nervy nine innings for Cubs fans.Yankees over AthleticsThere's a decent chance the AL wild-card game turns in a home run derby in the first inning.The Yankees and Athletics were two of the top three home-run hitting teams in the regular season, as they combined to hit 494 balls over the fence.If Wednesday's game was just a home-run hitting contest between Khris Davis and Giancarlo Stanton, we'd be okay with that as well.Ben Margot/Associated PressGiven the quality of sluggers on each roster, Wednesday could be difficult on both pitching staffs, even if everyone available is on at least two days of rest.In the six regular-season meetings between the Yankees and Athletics, the victorious side scored at least five runs.In those contests, an average of 10.1 runs were scored per game, with the Athletics averaging 5.5 runs and the Yankees averaging 4.6 runs.Additionally, three of the last four AL wild-card games have featured seven runs or more http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , with the Yankees winning the 2017 iteration 8-4 over the Minnesota Twins.Oakland's formula for a victory Wednesday involves an all-around effort at the plate, a strategy that should allow Davis to see as many pitches as possible.In their two wins over the Yankees in Oakland at the start of September, the Athletics received 16 hits from the first five batters in their order.Oakland enters with no shortage of confidence, but the Yankees went 53-28 at home in the regular season and possess a tough collection of pitchers.As long as the Yankees starter can go six innings, they should be in great shape as they hand the ball over to Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Chad Green and Aroldis Chapman.Omar Rawlings/Getty ImagesIf the Yankees hand Chapman a lead in the ninth inning, they should be packing their bags for Boston soon after, as the closer's struck out 41 batters in 28.1 career postseason innings and conceded a single home run in the playoffs.Getting to Chapman might be difficult at times, but the Yankees are more than capable of replicating their wild-card win from a year ago to set up an AL East showdown with the Red Sox in the ALDS.Follow Joe on Twitter, JTansey90.Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference.