Brian Goodwin's game-tying grand slam brings a boost to Pirates' competition in center field

Brian Goodwin could tell by playing the outfield that the wind was doing something different Wednesday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field, calling it a difficult night for fly balls.

The New York Yankees had built a five-run lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates by sending two of them over the fence on back-to-back shots by Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres in the third inning.

Even so, Goodwin wasn’t expecting to hit a homer.

“Long story short,” Goodwin said, “no, I didn’t.”

Goodwin snapped out a spring training funk by hitting a game-tying grand slam, as the Pirates rallied before dropping a 6-5 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday night in Tampa.

It was a big boost to his chances of winning the starting job in center field. The Pirates signed the 30-year-old Goodwin to a minor-league contact as a non-roster invitee to spring training, but he was hitting .111 with a single and two walks prior to facing Justin Wilson in the sixth inning.

“It’s never a bad thing to hit a homer,” Goodwin said. “But, I mean, at the end of the day, it’s one swing. There’s a lot of ABs to be had from this point on. But it is something you can take and build some confidence off of. I kind of look forward to getting back in the box and getting some good ABs.”

The Yankees got their share early against Pirates left-hander Tyler Anderson by scoring five runs on eight hits. DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge led off with singles in the first, and LeMahieu scored on Brett Gardner’s sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead.

Judge and Gardner both singled in the third, setting the stage for Stanton to blast a changeup 420 feet over the left-field wall for a three-run home run and 4-0 lead. Torres followed with a 429-foot solo shot to left-center to make it 5-0.

Pirates reliever Michael Feliz settled things down with a 1-2-3 fourth, and only made it sweeter for Richard Rodriguez when he struck out three of the four batters he faced in the fifth. He got Judge swinging before giving up a double to Gardner. Rodriguez struck out the two sluggers who hit back-to-back homers, getting Stanton swinging and Torres looking.

“It feels great,” Rodriguez said. “More important, I feel good. I feel comfortable. I feel healthy. I’m excited for the season, especially to help my team.”

Jared Oliva put the Pirates on the board with a line drive solo homer to left field off Wilson to cut it to 5-1. Third baseman Kevin Kramer snapped out of an 0-for-12 funk (with nine strikeouts) with a single to center and reached second safely on an error by shortstop Oswald Peraza on Dustin Fowler’s fielder’s choice. Wilmer Difo loaded the bases with a single to left to set the stage for Goodwin.

The Yankees took advantage of Blake Cederlind’s control issues in the eighth. Mike Ford started the rally with a single to right before Cederlind hit Robinson Chirinos with a pitch and walked Trey Amburgey to load the bases. Ezequiel Duran drew a walk to score Ford for a 6-5 lead.

Cederlind (0-1) took the loss for the Pirates (5-4).