Hustling Cabrera scores from SECOND on sac fly, sparking Yanks’ rally
Bryan Hoch
CHICAGO — With his playing time figuring to increase over the next several weeks, Oswaldo Cabrera provided a sales pitch for what he can add on Wednesday night, becoming the first Yankees player in nearly 24 years to score from second base on a sacrifice fly.
The Bombers’ do-it-all utilityman sparked his club’s slumbering lineup by racing home with a game-tying run in the seventh inning, marking the first of nine unanswered runs for the visitors in his club’s 10-2 victory over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“First time in my life. That was really awesome,” Cabrera said. “It felt so good.”
With the Yankees trailing, 2-1, Cabrera alertly tagged up as right fielder Dominic Fletcher made a terrific grab to rob Alex Verdugo of an extra-base hit near the warning track in right field, narrowly avoiding a collision with center fielder Luis Robert Jr.
“I was hoping it would fall, and Fletcher made the catch,” said manager Aaron Boone. “He made some really good plays in right field, and that was one of them, too.”
As Fletcher skidded to the dirt, Cabrera sprinted toward third base, where he was waved home by third-base coach Luis Rojas. Fletcher’s throw bounced to shortstop Nicky Lopez, who tossed home too late to nab Cabrera, who slid in safely head-first.
“When I saw the ball so deep, I started to do my turn,” Cabrera said. “When I looked at Luis, I saw the hand up and I was like, ‘Let’s do it.’”
The play marked the first occurrence of a Yankees runner scoring from second base on a sacrifice fly since Aug. 19, 2000, vs. the Angels, when Jorge Posada chugged home on a Clay Bellinger flyout in a 9-1 Bombers victory.
On that play, Angels left fielder Ron Gant lost track of the outs, resting briefly against the wall as Posada took off. Blessed with considerably more speed than the eventual Monument Park catcher, Cabrera said that he was “a little bit” surprised to have scored.
Said catcher Austin Wells: “With one out, [Cabrera] stayed close enough to be able to tag there, so if [Fletcher] didn’t catch it, he still would’ve scored from second anyway. He’s a great player, he plays really hard.”
Cabrera, who finished the night 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI, figures to see increased playing time at third base with the absence of Jazz Chisholm Jr., who was placed on the injured list Wednesday with a left UCL sprain.
“He’s been swinging the bat really well left-handed for about a month now after he went through a little bit of a lull there,” Boone said. “I thought he had more good at-bats tonight; getting into scoring position there down a run. Just being heads up there was one of those little igniters for us tonight, no question.”
