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NEW YORK -- Tyler Austin wasnt sure if Yankees manager Joe Girardi would let him face a right-hander in the ninth inning.Switch-hitting veteran Mark Teixeira was still on the bench, and the right-handed hitting Austin isnt far removed from a long slump.Girardi stuck with the rookie, and he came through, helping the Baby Bombers continue their unlikely push into postseason contention.Austin hit a solo homer in the ninth to give New York its season-high fifth straight victory, 5-4 over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night.Brian McCann hit two homers for the Yankees, who moved a season-high nine games over .500 (74-65).After blowing three leads during the first six innings, New York moved within two games of Baltimore for the second AL wild card and four games of AL East-leading Boston. Resurgent New York plays 20 of its remaining 23 games against division opponents, putting it in position to compete despite selling off key pieces at the Aug. 1 deadline.I think everybody in this clubhouse believes that we can make a push at this thing and get in the postseason, Austin said. Its an exciting time right now.Austin homered off Erasmo Ramirez (7-11) on a 3-2 pitch for his third homer since being called up Aug. 13. Teammates met him at home plate by dousing him with water in a raucous celebration.That was a huge team win for us, Austin said, and a special moment.A long one coming, too. Injuries and poor performance slowed Austins climb through the minors, and in 2015, he was demoted from Triple-A to Double-A during the season. He opened back at Double-A Trenton again this season, a disappointing assignment, but then forced his way to the majors with his bat.I didnt give up, kept battling and you know, here we are, he said.After homering in his big league debut, Austin entered a 4-for-33 slump that ended Sunday. He since has a five-game hitting streak.Girardi decided to let the 25-year-old Austin bat because Ramirez has better numbers against left-handed hitters.And hes in the game, Girardi said of Austin. A lot of times its a lot easier if youre in the game.The pesky Rays kept coming back, getting two homers each from Kevin Kiermaier and Steven Souza by the sixth. This was the first game this season in which three players had multiple homers, per the Elias Sports Bureau.MAC ATTACKMcCanns homer in the second landed in the luxury suites just below the third deck in right field. His second put the Yankees up 4-3 in the fourth, giving him 19 for the season.The left-handed slugger is one shy of his ninth straight 20-homer season and 10th overall but entered on a 3-for-20 slide.You want to pull your weight around here, McCann said. For a large part of the season, I havent been doing that. So tonight was nice to get to some baseballs and backspin them.WELCOME ABOARDTampa Bay hit four homers after being joined by new hitting coach Chad Mottola earlier in the day. Mottola was promoted from minor league hitting coordinator after Tampa Bay fired Derek Shelton on Tuesday.Kiermaier homered twice in the first three innings, setting a career high with his 11th homer in the third. Hes hit safely in a career-best 12 straight games, the longest streak by a Ray this season.Souza had his third multihomer game of the season, and second at Yankee Stadium.`PEN GAMESNew York had to use five relievers on a night when its bullpen was already short-handed. Girardi hoped to avoid using Dellin Betances, Tyler Clippard, Adam Warren and Luis Severino, so he had to dig deep in the bullpen when CC Sabathia went just four innings, allowing three homers while throwing 87 pitches.Girardi was still aggressive matching up his left-handed relievers, including when Tommy Layne (2-1) entered and struck out pinch-hitter Logan Morrison to end the ninth.BACK IN THE GROOVEAlex Cobb made his second start since having Tommy John surgery and allowed four runs over six innings. He gave up two homers and threw 89 pitches.Hes around the strike zone, extremely efficient, kept his pitch count down, gave us every opportunity to win, manager Kevin Cash said.A SMALL PARTYThe paid attendance was 27,631, under 30,000 for just the second time at Yankee Stadium -- the first was 27,532 on Tuesday. That was the first time under 30,000 since 2004.BALK BACKUmpires called Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder for a balk that let in a run in the fifth inning, then overturned the call.Holder motioned with his glove for McCann to show him the signs again, and first base umpire Jordan Baker called a balk, allowing Logan Forsythe to score from third.The Yankees argued, and the umpires conferred before overturning the decision.TO THE BALLOTSThe Staten Island Yankees, one of New Yorks Class-A affiliates, are holding a fan vote to decide on a new team name. The options are: Bridge Trolls, Island Heroes, Killer Bees, Pizza Rats and Rock Pigeons.TRAINING ROOMRays: SS Matt Duffy will have surgery Friday on his left heel. Dr. Bob Anderson, team orthopedist for the NFLs Carolina Panthers, will perform the operation. ... RHP Chase Whitley is expected to return following Tommy John surgery in one of the next three games. Whitley pitched for the Yankees in 2014 and `15 but was placed on waivers and claimed by Tampa Bay last November while recovering from the surgery.UP NEXTRays: Rookie LHP Blake Snell (5-7, 3.39) starts vs. New York on Friday night. He struck out seven over six innings of one-run ball in a win against Toronto last time out and has a 2.61 ERA in two starts against New York this season.Yankees: RHP Michael Pineda (6-11, 5.10) pitches against Tampa Bay. Pineda is 0-1 with a 7.04 ERA over his past three starts. Aaron Gordon Magic Jersey . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Tracy Mcgrady Jersey . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. http://www.magicauthentic.com/customized/ .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Grant Hill Jersey . JOHNS, N. Melvin Frazier Magic Jersey . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. The latest Olympic hero for China is not even a gold medalist.Fu Yuanhui is popular for simply being herself -- unafraid to show her unfiltered, wacky facial expressions and candid words.Her smile lit up the deck as she took a victory lap with the bronze medal around her neck for her performance in the 100-meter backstroke. She didnt care that it wasnt gold, even if her country has long pushed athletes to get to the top of the podium.As if to prove the point, she thanked herself.I want to tell myself that ... your perseverance and efforts in the past have not been in vain, Fu said. Though I didnt win first place, I have already surpassed myself.Her candor -- paired with animated facial expressions -- is a rarity among Chinese elite athletes, who have spent so much time in the rigid state sport system that their vocabulary is often robotically limited by the state parlance that puts the countrys honor and national pride first.Just six years ago, a senior Chinese official chided short-track speedskater Zhou Yang for failing to thank the country first and only mentioning her parents after winning gold in the 1,500-meter event at the Vancouver Olympics.For decades, the Chinese public has been obsessed with Olympic gold medals but turned their nose up on anything less than the top spot on the podium. They even were downright cruel to athletes who failed to win gold and considered it a shame to come only second.The adoration piled upon Fu as her followers on social media swelled to nearly 5 million from 56,000 this week, the latest sign that China is moving away from the gold-medal mentality and starting to respect sportsmanship and athletes as individuals.The Chinese society has indeed changed. We still have the collective desire to remain first-class in the world, but we are respecting individual rights, opined the state-run newspaper Global Times -- known for its nationalistic stance -- on Fus soaring popularity..ddddddddddddAlthough Fu Yuanhui is an exception, it marks changes in the generation of younger athletes. The echoing applause by the Chinese public marks a shift in the societal awareness, wrote the editorial, suggesting that Chinas politics is partly to be blamed for the restraints and reservation often exhibited by Chinese athletes.Born in an average family in the prospering eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, Fu began to swim at 5 when her parents hoped the water exercise could improve her health and alleviate her asthma, according to a 2015 Chinese media report. Her talent emerged, and the girl was recruited into the municipal swimming team. Considered a genius in the pool, Fu competed in London but came home empty-handed. Unabashed, she reportedly joked she had drunk enough of the foot-washing water of other swimmers.Fu apparently has not considered the Olympic gold a must in her swimming career, a departure from state athletes who are tasked with winning for the sake of the country.On her 20th birthday in January, she posted this on her social media account: I know for what I live. I know the kind of life I want. Its simple. Joy. Loving Heart. Gratitude.This is what I want. Being outstanding or not, it does not matter.Her parents also put no pressure on her.We set no goal for her, but whats important is to enjoy the process and to be happy, her father, Fu Chunsheng, told local media in 2013. But theres one principle that she should feel no regret when she looks back on this experience after 10 years.It doesnt look like she will. The swimmer claimed she used primordial force in Rio, and the term became an instant meme in Chinas social media. And her exaggerated expression of surprise in learning her speed has gone viral:Incredible. I am that fast? she said. I am very satisfied. ' ' '