Major League Baseball

'GARD' KNOCK - BRETT HIT KEYS BIG INNING

Published Oct. 18, 2010 10:14 p.m. ET

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ARLINGTON, Texas - The Yankees' rally and the Rangers' collapse were due to Brett Gardner getting things started.

Gardner's leadoff infield single in the game-turning - and possibly series-turning - eighth inning last night sparked the Yankees' five-run rally in their 6-5 ALCS Game 1 comeback win.

"We're a team that plays hard all the time," Gardner said. "It isn't a lot to ask to play hard, to run hard. That's what I do whenever I make contact. You play that way, good things happen."

Entering the eighth, Rangers starter C.J. Wilson had fired seven innings of one-run ball, handling the Yankees pretty easily and owning a 5-1 lead.

Gardner to that point was just 2-for-11 in the playoffs this year. Including his ineffective numbers during last year's championship run, Gardner was a meager 4-for-24 in his postseason career. And after a fast start to the regular season, he batted .230 in his last 70 games.

Facing Wilson in the crucial spot, though, Gardner hit a relatively simple grounder to first baseman Jorge Cantu. Cantu opted not to head to the bag himself - though it's debatable whether he could have beaten Gardner there - and instead flipped to Wilson covering. But Gardner outran Wilson to the base, sliding in safely ahead of the force.

At that point, it seemed like a harmless infield single with the Yankees down four runs. But the proverbial floodgates opened. Derek Jeter followed with an RBI double, bringing Gardner in to make it 5-2. After two walks, Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run single to make it 5-4, Robinson Cano hit an RBI single to tie the score, and Marcus Thames hit an RBI single to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead.

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Memorable comebacks

The Yankees rallied late to win Game 1 of the ALCS last night. Here's a look at some other notable Yankees comebacks in recent playoff history:

* Oct. 23, 1996 World Series Game 4 vs. Braves Yankees trailed 6-0 after five innings but scored three runs in the sixth and tied it at 6-6 on Jim Leyritz's three-run homer off Mark Wohlers in the eighth. They won 8-6 in 10 innings and won the series 4-2.

* Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2001 World Series Games 4 and 5 vs. Diamondbacks On consecutive nights at Yankee Stadium, the Bombers rallied with unforgettable lateinning heroics. In Game 4, Tino Martinez blasted a game-tying, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, and Derek Jeter's solo shot in the 10th gave the Yanks a 4-3 victory. The next night, with the Series tied 2-2, it was Scott Brosius who connected for the game-tying two-run homer in the ninth, and the Yanks went on to win 3-2 in 12 innings. The D'backs won the Series in seven games.

* Oct. 16, 2003 ALCS Game 7 vs. Red Sox The Yankees trailed Pedro Martinez 5-1 in the seventh. Jason Giambi's second homer of the game made it 5-2, and the Yankees got three in the eighth off a fading Martinez to tie it. Aaron Boone's (left) 11th-inning homer gave the Yankees a 6-5 win and the pennant.