Oh, and there was a game, too.
Two hours after Alex Rodriguez announced that Friday would be his final games in the majors, the Yankees took the field and dispatched of the Indians, 3-2, in front of 39,720 at the Stadium.
A-Rod, the case much of the last month, did not appear, watching from the bench as Masahiro Tanaka turned in one of his best outings of the season and the offense produced just enough against Cleveland righthander Carlos Carrasco.
The Yankees (56-55) won the season series against the AL Central-leading, but recently struggling, Indians (62-47), 5-2.
Tanaka, coming off his start Tuesday against the Mets when he allowed a season-worst seven runs (six earned) in a 7-1 loss, controlled the Indians, allowing one runs over six-plus innings.
Tanaka (8-4, 3.32), who walked none and struck out a season-best eight, departed after a leadoff double in the seventh and Adam Warren allowed an inherited runner to score. Warren stranded two, getting out of the inning when Mark Teixeira made a sliding stop deep behind the bag of a Francisco Lindor ground smash, then beat, with glove-first dive, the shortstop to the bag for the third out.
Warren (one inning) and Tyler Clippard (2⁄3 of an inning) served as a bridge to Dellin Betances, who came on with Jose Ramirez on third and two outs in the eighth.
Betances walked Rajai Davis and, with Tyler Naquin at the plate, threw a wild pitch that brought in Ramirez to make it 3-2. Betances struck out Naquin to end the inning, then pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.
It took the Yankees, who hammered Carrasco to the tune of five runs over 3 2⁄3 innings July 10 in an 11-7 victory in Cleveland, one pitch to get a rally going Sunday.
Brett Gardner led off by driving one into the gap in left-center for a triple and he came in on Jacoby Ellsbury’s sacrifice fly to center to make it 1-0.
The Yankees added on in the fourth when Didi Gregorius lined a hanging 2-and-2 curveball into the seats in right for his 13th homer of the season, making it 2-0.
Teixeira, who announced his intent to retire at season’s end on Friday, doubled in Ellsbury, who had walked, with two outs in the fifth to make it 3-0.
Carrasco (8-5, 3.17) allowed three runs and five hits over seven innings, striking out nine.
The Indians broke through in the seventh. Rajai Davis led off with a doubled and, after Girardi brought in Warren, went to second on Tyler Naquin’s long fly out to left. Roberto Perez’s single to right brought in Davis to make it 3-1.
..... - Newsday