Bronx, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Chase Headley capped a whirlwind day with a game-winning single in his New York Yankees debut, giving his new team a hard- earned 2-1, 14-inning victory over the Texas Rangers.
Headley, acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres earlier Tuesday, shot a line drive to left-center field off Nick Tepesch (3-6) with one out that brought home Brian Roberts and enabled the Yankees to avenge a 4-2 defeat to the last-place Rangers in Monday's opener of this three-game set.
The 2012 National League RBI champion had gone hitless in his first three at- bats after entering in the eighth inning.
Jacoby Ellsbury and Roberts each finished with two hits, with Ellsbury coming through with an RBI single against Joakim Soria that extended the contest.
Neither team managed to push home a run through the first 12 innings of play before Texas' J.P. Arencibia broke the stalemate with a solo homer in the 13th.
Arencibia hammered a changeup from David Huff into the visitor's bullpen to lead off the top of the inning, giving Texas a 1-0 edge that Soria couldn't hold in the bottom of the frame.
Brett Gardner greeted the Texas closer with a double to right and took third on Derek Jeter's sacrifice bunt before Ellsbury laced a clean single to finally get the Yankees on the board.
Carlos Beltran followed with a base hit to place the winning run on third, but Soria escaped when Brian McCann's liner was snared by Arencibia and Beltran was doubled off.
Jeff Francis (1-1) preserved the tie with a scoreless top of the 14th, and Roberts put New York in position to win by slicing a ground-rule double off Tepesch with one down in the home half. Francisco Cervelli then punched through a single to set the stage for Headley's heroics.
The Yankees had a golden opportunity to prevail in their half of the 12th after Beltran reached on an infield single against Ryan Feierabend and McCann's pop-up to short left center dropped between three Rangers for a base hit. Both runners were moved up on Ichiro Suzuki's sac bunt before Brian Roberts was intentionally walked to fill the sacks.
Rangers manager Ron Washington then summoned in Scott Baker, who threw three straight balls to Cervelli that preceded a get-me-over strike. His next pitch was ripped by the Yankee catcher, but right into the glove of third baseman Adrian Beltre.
Headley followed with a chopper to second that forced out Roberts and kept the game scoreless prior to Arencibia's blast.
The Rangers also snuffed out a New York threat in the ninth. Derek Jeter doubled -- his franchise-record 535th as a Yankee -- with one out off Neal Cotts and Ellsbury was walked intentionally. Beltran, however, hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
The game's earlier stages featured an unexpected duel between two rookie hurlers, both of whom entered the matchup with a 5.10 ERA. New York's Chase Whitley scattered seven hits and struck out six over six-plus scoreless innings, while the Rangers' Nick Martinez yielded just three hits and a walk over 5 1/3 innings.
Martinez, who pitched collegiately at nearby Fordham University, was impressive in his first start since missing three weeks due to discomfort in his left side. The young right-hander set down 12 straight Yankees after surrendering a pair of opening-inning singles and didn't allow a runner past first base over his entire stint.
The Rangers, meanwhile, put the leadoff man on against Whitley in each of the first four frames but came away empty each time. Their best chance came in the second, when Leonys Martin reached on a bunt single and gained an additional base on a throwing error by New York third baseman Zelous Wheeler, then was on third with none out after Whitley uncorked a wild pitch.
Whitley got Arencibia to ground out harmlessly, however, prior to fanning Robinson Chirinos and retiring Rougned Odor to end the threat.
Chirinos doubled with one out in the fifth to put another Ranger in scoring position, but was later thrown out by Roberts while attempting to score on Daniel Robertson's infield hit.
Game Notes
Jeter surpassed Hall-of-Famer Lou Gehrig for sole possession of first place on the Yankees' all-time doubles list ... New York's Kelly Johnson exited the game in the bottom of the 10th with an apparent leg injury ... Texas outfielder Alex Rios sat out a third straight game with a sprained ankle ... The Yankees had been 0-3 at home in extra-inning games prior to Tuesday's result.
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