On Tuesday afternoon, former Padres third baseman Chase Headley was sent to the New York Yankees in a trade that general manager Brian Cashman hoped would provide a spark for an ailing lineup. Headley came on as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning and proved his worth in the 14th.
The game went into extra innings with a 0-0 score. Starters Chase Whitley of the Yanks and Nick Martinez of the Texas Rangers both tossed five innings or more of scoreless baseball. The first run wasn't surrendered until the 13th, when J.P. Arencibia homered off of David Huff in the top half of the inning to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. But in the bottom of the 13th, Jacoby Ellsbury delivered an RBI single off of Rangers' closer Joakim Soria to yet again tie the game.
Jeff Francis, another newly acquired Yankee, came on in relief in the top of the 14th inning. He got through the inning unscathed, and it was up to the Yankees' bats to make a move in the bottom half. With runners on first and third and one out, Headley stepped up to the plate, already 0-3 with a strikeout since pinch-hitting for Zelous Wheeler in the eighth inning. But moments later, Headley ripped a single into left center field and drove in Brian Roberts for the walk-off victory, officially being inaugurated as a New York Yankee.
"Sometimes these things happen," said Headley after the game, in this ESPN article. "I had a chance earlier to get it done. There's a lot of nerves, but then I thought, why wouldn't this day go this way?" I was yanking off everything and made an adjustment and shot it the other way."
Headley earned his status as a Yankee and also gave Jeff Francis the victory for his first win in pinstripes. Brett Gardner showered Headley with a waterfall of yellow Gatorade during his postgame interview as the former Padre became the first Yankee to deliver a game-winning hit in his debut with the team since 1943.
What was an historic night for Headley was also another for Yankees' legend Derek Jeter. The shortstop went 1-4 with a walk, but his one hit was a double, which happened to be the 535th of his career and the all-time Yankees' record. He passed legend Lou Gehrig (534 career doubles) to claim yet another historic record, atop the list of Don Mattingly, Bernie Williams, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, and Mickey Mantle.
With the win, the Yankees improved to 51-48 and remain only four games behind Baltimore for the division lead. General Manager Brian Cashman is exploring trade options to bolster the team's decimated lineup, as he has already done in acquiring Headley and starter Brandon McCarthy.
You can read more about Headley's walk-off win in this New York Daily News article.
