As Gary Sanchez steadied himself at the plate in the fifth inning Wednesday, it was not a tailing sinker that arrived from Houston Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel. It was an invitation.
A gaping hole on right side of the infield beckoned. So with his hitless streak sitting at 19 at-bats and his continual pulling of the ball yielding only frustration, Sanchez did not unleash another violent swing.
Instead, he extended his arms as if he were a water skier hanging onto a rope.
Sanchez made just enough contact with the two-strike pitch to ground it slowly through the hole created by a shift and into right field for a two-run single that propelled the Yankees to a 5-3 victory.