Ex-Met Chris Young’s three-run homer in ninth saves Yankees

Chris Young was playing in the wrong borough this season.

The Mets flameout hit a walk-off, three-run homer to beat the Rays, 5-4, in The Bronx on Thursday as the Yankees overcame a four-run deficit for a second straight night — this time after getting no hit for 7 ¹/₃ innings.

Young's blast off Rays' closer Jake McGee gave the Yankees a dramatic win that kept their distant playoff hopes somewhat alive as they moved within four games of the second wild-card spot.

Earlier, Young helped the Yankees avoid making some unwanted history after Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb held them hitless until one out in the eighth inning when Young doubled.

Martin Prado followed with a pinch-hit, two-run homer to get another small Stadium crowd excited, but after Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch and Brian McCann reached on an error, Mark Teixeira struck out to end the inning.

Chase Headley led off the bottom of the ninth by getting drilled in the face by McGee in a frightening scene, and Ichiro Suzuki followed with a double.

Zelous Wheeler, hitting for Stephen Drew, was overmatched and struck out before Young hit his second huge home run for his new team in as many nights.

Cobb was hardly threatened through the first seven innings, as the Yankees repeatedly failed to hit the ball hard against the right-hander.

Before the game, general manager Brian Cashman addressed the Yankees' offensive woes and said he was still mystified by the lineup's struggles.

"It's certainly something we didn't anticipate and tried to address in-season," Cashman said. "It's something we'll really analyze when the dust settles."

Cobb appeared to tire in the seventh, when he walked McCann on four pitches and then went to 3-0 to Teixeira before losing him on a full count. Cobb was bailed out when third-base umpire Larry Vanover ruled Headley didn't check his swing on a 2-2 count a batter later. Ichiro hit a foul pop to third to end the inning.

Cobb retired the first six batters he faced before Kevin Kiermaier dropped Stephen Drew's routine fly ball in center to lead off the bottom of the third.

The Yankees failed to take advantage of that opportunity, as Drew was stranded on second.

And Michael Pineda, who has been a bright spot in the rotation since returning from a muscle injury near his right shoulder, as well as a suspension for using pine tar earlier in the year, couldn't hold down the Rays forever.

He coughed up a pair of homers to Yunel Escobar, including a three-run shot to left in the fourth.

With four games starting Friday in Baltimore against the division-leading Orioles, the Yankees have considerable work to do to get back in the race, but they certainly have shown a flare for the dramatic.

"We've made it hard on ourselves with the math," Cashman said before the game. "It's tough. We still have the ability to win games out. … We can control that. We can't control people in front of us in the standings."

And at this point, they have little hope of making up the necessary ground.

"The bottom line is: Just keep it simple," Cashman said. "We've just got to win games and we haven't done a good enough job here on the stretch drive as we needed to be in a better situation. … We just have to win our games, period."

They managed another one on Thursday.

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