Prado has big hit in 9th, Yankees rally for win

HOWIE RUMBERG
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — With two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Martin Prado fouled off three straight fastballs from power pitcher Daniel Webb. To settle himself, he looked into the Yankees dugout and saw his new teammates standing at the railing, cheering him on.

“They give you a little extra,” Prado said.

Prado worked the count full and then lined a single up the middle, lifting New York to a 4-3, come-from-behind victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

“One of the biggest moments in my career, not personal-wise. Just getting a win for the Yankees means a lot,” said Prado, who was obtained in a trade with Arizona on July 31.

Prado also hit a two-run homer in the third, and Jacoby Ellsbury had an RBI double in the fifth off John Danks after Chicago’s Jose Abreu connected for a three-run shot in the first against Shane Greene.

Ichiro Suzuki started the ninth with a single and advanced on a sacrifice. After Derek Jeter lined out, Webb (5-4) intentionally walked Ellsbury and walked Mark Teixeira before Prado’s hit touched off a raucous celebration near second base.

“I thought it was a game we had to win,” left fielder Brett Gardner said of the Yankees, who are the fringes of the AL playoff race.

David Robertson (2-4) struck out two in a perfect ninth, closing out New York’s fourth win in 11 games. Chicago (59-69) lost its fourth straight and fell a season-high 10 games under .500.

“You get three runs in the first and not get any more. … That’s how you lose,” White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn said.

After talking about how Cuban ballplayers admired the Yankees growing up because of their success, Abreu impressed New York with his 33rd homer in the first at-bat of his career at Yankee Stadium.

Two innings later, Danks yielded Prado’s long ball, his AL-leading 24th homer given up. The right-hander allowed three runs, upping his total to a league-high 87, in five-plus innings.

Greene recovered nicely after giving up three straight hits to start the game, including Abreu’s homer. He allowed a career-high nine hits in five-plus innings and struck out seven.

Gardner made a strong throw to nail Alexei Ramirez at the plate — a call upheld by video review — to keep it 3-all in the sixth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: OF Adam Eaton is scheduled to begin a rehabilitation assignment Saturday with Triple-A Charlotte. He has been out with a strained right oblique since Aug. 9.

Yankees: OF-DH Carlos Beltran was out of the lineup for the third straight day. He hit off a tee and did soft toss to test his injured right elbow, and all went well. “We’re hoping he’s a player for us (Saturday),” manager Joe Girardi said.

UP NEXT

Chicago’s Scott Carroll (5-7) is set to start against New York’s Hiroki Kuroda (8-8). Before the game the Yankees will retired Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre’s number and unveil a plaque in his honor in Monument Park. Torre led New York to four World Series championships in five years from 1996-2000 and 12 straight playoff appearances.

FOUL, FOUL BALL

Fan Kevin Ohea took chasing a foul ball to precarious lengths. The navy-suited 20-something, sitting in the first row of the second deck at Yankee Stadium, climbed the railing and went into an unused photographer’s perch to pick up the souvenir, receiving loud applause. The cheers turned to boos when he was escorted out by a policeman, but Ohea was met with another ovation when he was allowed to return. “They realized it was heat of the moment and realized there was nothing you could do about it,” Ohea said of why he was not ejected from the ballpark. “I think the suit helped out.”

SPECIAL K

Robertson got his 500th career strikeout, when he fanned Tyler Flowers in the ninth.

SOLID START

White Sox 2B Carlos Sanchez had his first three major league hits. He became the first White Sox player to have a three-hit game within his first two career games since Craig Wilson and Brian Simmons in 1998.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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