Jonathan Aranda’s walk‑off

Jonathan Aranda ended Tampa Bay’s 5-4 win over the New York Yankees on April 11 with a 10th-inning infield single that scored Chandler Simpson. (mlb.com) The game turned on two Rays balls that barely left the infield in the bottom of the 10th. Taylor Walls tied it with a bunt single, then Aranda chopped a one-hopper that got past a five-man infield as Simpson came home standing. (baynews9.com) New York had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the 10th on José Caballero’s run-scoring single, after Caballero had already put the Yankees ahead 3-2 with a two-run double in the eighth. Tampa Bay answered both times and handed New York its fourth straight loss. (baynews9.com) Aranda’s hit was recorded as a fielder’s choice after Jazz Chisholm Jr. got a glove on the ball and then threw late to first while trying to start a double play. The winning run still counted, and the Rays’ comeback stood at 5-4 in 10 innings. (baynews9.com) The finish fit the way Tampa Bay built the rally against a Yankees defense pulled in tight. Major League Baseball’s game story said the Rays scored the two 10th-inning runs on three balls that traveled a combined 13 feet. (mlb.com) The result also flipped a game that had looked headed the other way against Max Fried. Tampa Bay tied the score in the eighth when Nick Fortes doubled and later scored on Yandy Díaz’s infield hit off Fried. (baynews9.com) For Aranda, the walk-off added another late-game hit to a still-short major league résumé. Baseball-Reference lists him as a 27-year-old Rays infielder and first baseman who debuted in 2022, and MLB posted his postgame interview minutes after the win. (baseball-reference.com) (mlb.com) By the end, the winning play looked nothing like a classic deep drive and counted just the same. Tampa Bay left the field with a 7-7 record, and the Yankees left Tropicana Field at 8-6 after another one-run loss. (espn.com)