NEW YORK _ The American League East has a new division leader.
The Yankees took advantage on Friday with first place on the line and CC Sabathia on the mound.
Gio Urshela completed the comeback with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth, giving New York a dramatic 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay and a half-game lead over the Rays.
Luke Voit gave the Yankees life earlier in the ninth inning with a solo shot to right. Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres continued the rally with hits of their own. The Yankees tied the game by scoring on a wild pitch with the bases loaded.
Kendrys Morales also came through much earlier in the night with his first home run as a Yankee.
New York bailed out Chad Green, who gave up two go-ahead runs in the eighth inning.
"Guys that we didn't necessarily expect to be major contributors have asserted themselves in that role," manager Aaron Boone said before the game. "They have climbed the ladder in our eyes."
The Yankee offense was held quiet for most of the night, aside from a blast from its newest addition. Morales hit a moonshot in the second inning that went 417 feet.
The Yankees acquired Morales in a deal with Oakland this week for cash considerations or a player to be named later. He had been designated for the assignment by the A's, his sixth major league team.
"New York can be big," Boone said. "Playing here can be big. You want (new players) to feel comfortable, feel at home in the room. I think our guys do a great job of that and I try to be a part of that."
The Yankees got another good outing from Sabathia, who allowed one run over six innings. This was his longest start of the season and lowered his ERA to 2.97. It's hard to imagine where the Yankees, or their decimated starting rotation, would be without him.
The only problem for Sabathia was that the Yankee offense wasn't able to give him much help.
They were held in check by opener Ryne Stanek and then Yonny Chirinos, who threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
It was the 13th time the Rays used an opener this season, and all but one has come with Stanek on the mound. In total, their openers have a 1.74 ERA over 13 games this year.
"We know it presents a challenge obviously, because they have good pitchers that they're going to run in there against you," Boone said. "But we feel like it's not something that's foreign to us now. That at least creates a little bit of comfort."
The Yankees have not been in first place since March 29. The season could have spiraled out of control with 13 players currently on the injured list, but the depth pickups and shrewd moves by general manager Brian Cashman have prevented further damage.
"(The organization) has done a really job of building depth and identifying the right people to go after when we are in need of certain things," Boone said.
"That's a big reason why though we've had as much adversity and as many injuries that we've had, we've had a lot of good players waiting in the wings to step in. To their credit, they've come in, step in and performed and not been overwhelmed."
