Retiring MLB legend Derek Jeter rescues Yankees, belts game-winning RBI

OF course it didn’t rain and of course he delivered. And Derek Jeter, as he has done throughout this career, rose to the moment.

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: Derek Jeter #2 of the New York Yankees gestures from the field against the Baltimore Orioles in his last game ever at Yankee Stadium on September 25, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Mike Stobe/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

OF course it didn’t rain and of course he delivered. And Derek Jeter, as he has done throughout this career, rose to the moment.

In pure Jeterian fashion, Jeter belted an RBI single to right field in the ninth to lead the Yankees to a 6-5 victory over the Orioles in his last game in The Bronx.

Jeter and the Yankees thought he won the game earlier, when the captain drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh, helping the Bombers grab a 4-2 lead.

With the bases loaded and one out in the inning, Jeter, who also lashed an RBI double in the first inning, didn’t hit the ball hard, grounding into fielder’s choice to shortstop J.J. Hardy and scoring Ichiro Suzuki for the game’s the game’s third run. But Jeter reached base on the play as Hardy threw the ball into the outfield, scoring Jose Pirela with the fourth run, which was unearned.

Derek Jetergestures from the field against the Baltimore Orioles in his last game ever at Yankee Stadium.

The next batter, Brian McCann, hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Brett Gardner to extend the lead to 5-2.

But in the ninth, David Robertson gave up a two-run homer to Adam Jones and a solo shot to Steve Pearce that tied the game at 5-5.

Long before Hiroki Kuroda threw the first pitch at 7:08pm the night was all about Jeter. Even the predicted rain held off and the game started on time.

Derek Jeter farewells the New York crowd in style.

Kuroda gave up back-to-back homers to Nick Markakis and Alejandro De Aza to start the first and it looked like the Orioles were on the way to spoiling Jeter’s night after lapping the Yankees in the AL East.

But Jeter had a big hand in the Yankees tying the score, 2-2, in the home half of the inning.

Brett Gardner opened with a single and Jeter drove a 3-1 fastball clocked at 95mph off the wall in left for an RBI double. Gardner scored when second baseman and ex-Yankee Kelly Johnson didn’t field Brian McCann’s grounder in short right field.

Derek Jeter celebrates after his game winning RBI.

With runners on first and second Kevin Gausman got Stephen Drew on a fly to right.

Jeter grounded out in the second and whiffed in the fifth.

Kuroda immediately settled down after the first-run homers. He allowed one hit in the following five frames, didn’t face a batter with a runner in scoring position and retired 15 of the following 17 batters. Besides De Aza’s third inning single that was erased by a double play, the only other base runner was Johnson who reached on Jeter’s throwing error in the second.

In five innings Gausman gave up two runs, three hits, a walk and fanned five.