NewsSeven homers highlight walk-off week
Tuesday-Sunday stretch features nightly dose of drama
By Doug Miller / MLB.com
05/18/09 2:48 AM ET
It was walk-off week in Major League Baseball, with a Tuesday-to-Sunday nightly parade of game-winning home runs that saw stadiums go crazy and players get mobbed by their teammates at home plate.Here's a quick rundown of this long-ball-legendary six-day stint:
Tuesday, May 12: Pablo Sandoval, Giants
Sandoval got the week started the dramatic way, with the Giants trailing by a run with two outs in the ninth at AT&T Park, blasting a three-run shot off Nationals lefty Joe Beimel. On a 2-2 count, he got a fastball he was expecting and drove it over the wall in left field for a 9-7 victory. "I just wanted to get my pitch and drive the ball," Sandoval said. "I don't want to tie the game. I want to end it."
Wednesday, May 13: Joe Crede, Twins
The walk-off wackiness continued with Crede re-enacting most Major Leaguers' childhood dream scenarios: the game-ending grand slam. But this wasn't just any grand slam. This was a two-out grand slam in the 13th inning to beat the division rival Tigers, 14-10, and end a game that went on for four hours and 48 minutes. "After you play those kind of games, you at least want to come out on top," Crede said. "Everybody is out there and everybody is tired, especially thinking you have to come back in 12 hours and play another game."
Thursday, May 14: Chris Davis, Rangers
Well, a little more than 12 hours later, another game ended with a ball jumping out of a baseball stadium -- this one being Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, where suddenly red-hot Texas was in the midst of a tear. Davis' no-doubter came on a 2-1 fastball from reliever Brandon Morrow that soared into the bleachers in deep right-center to give the Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Mariners. It was Texas' second straight win in its last at-bat. "It's just an unbelievable feeling," Davis said. "I've been a part of so many moments with this team. We feel we can come through at any time. We're always coming through for each other and picking each other up. It just feels great to be the guy who comes through and picks them up."
Friday, May 15: B.J. Upton, Rays
Upton made a name for himself as a clutch home-run hitter in last year's postseason, and that reputation carried over into this game, when his bat produced a piece of history. Upton's game-ending homer on a full count against Cleveland reliever Luis Vizcaino helped Tampa Bay notch the biggest comeback in team history, an 8-7 win over the Indians in which the Rays overcame a 7-0 deficit. "I just feel like this was a stepping stone," Upton said. "We've just got to move forward. Obviously, this was a big win, a come-from-behind win. We just have to build off of this.'"
Saturday, May 16: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees; Nick Hundley, Padres
The only thing better than a walk-off homer is two walk-off homers, and that happened on a hectic Saturday in the big leagues. A-Rod hit a slider from Twins reliever Craig Breslow over the left-field wall for a two-run homer in the 11th inning of this game, making his first hit in the new Yankee Stadium count for a 6-4 win over Minnesota. "He's one of the few guys who has the ability to do this fairly often," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Not everybody can hit a ball 500 feet, but he has the ability at any time." Meanwhile, on the other side of the country in PETCO Park, Hundley did some dinger damage, too, taking Micah Owings deep in the bottom of the 16th inning (!) for an second-deck solo shot to beat the Reds, 6-5.
Sunday, May 17: Johnny Damon, Yankees
Magic is starting to happen at the new Yankee Stadium, where Damon's blast into the second deck in right field off Jesse Crain gave the Yanks a third straight walk-off win over the Twins (the second straight via the homer), this one by the score of 3-2 in 10 innings. The Bronx Bombers have won a season-high five games in a row. The last time the Yankees had three consecutive walk-off wins was Aug. 27-29, 1972. "Johnny has done a lot of this for us this year, big hits late in the game," Girardi said. "This is just another one."
Doug Miller is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
