Virtual Yanks Get Away With One on Get Away Day in Texas. Stanton Tracked in the Desert.

The Virtual Yankees managed to pull out a wild one in Arlington on the last day of their three-game set against the Texas Rangers, winning 10-9 in 11 innings.

New York's much-ballyhooed free agent, Gerrit Cole, was hit hard for the first time all season.  Texas second-sacker Rougned Odor connected for a grand-slam against Cole, and he was also touched for a long home run by rookie Steele Walker.

Cole, who was seen to repeatedly grasp his right shoulder and wince while out on the mound, denied that there was anything seriously the matter with his arm, and said he would just ice it and consult with team physicians when the Yankees made it back to New York.

Put in a 6-1 hole early on, the Yanks rallied on some timely hitting from Mike "Walkie" Tauchman, making his first start on the season, Gio Urshela, and Luke Voit, who has been largely overshadowed at first this season by Mike "Blimpie" Ford.

Urshela had a crucial, ground-rule double to tie the game at 7-7 in the top of the eighth, while also making several outstanding plays in the field.  Tauchman hit two triples, stole a base, and robbed Elvis Andrus of a home run with a great catch above the wall in left.  But it was Luke Voit's two-run bomb that gave the Yanks what proved to be an insurmountable, 10-8 lead in the 11th.

Tommy Kahnle managed to make Voit's bomb stand up, despite surrendering what was ruled an inside-the-park home run by Shin-Soo Choo.

Choo's ball rolled all the way to the wall after Estevan Florial, making just his second start as a Yankee, tried to make a shoestring catch and failed.

Florial had a tough day at the office, also going 0-7 with five strikeouts.

"I'm not worried about that kid," Manager Ma Boone said afterwards. "That one—he's got a high ceiling."

Asked about Cole's arm discomfort, Boone replied, "What, his arm's bothering him?  Huh."

Meanwhile, the Yankees reported that state police in New Mexico were hot on the trail of missing slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who was last seen wandering into a desert there.  Police reported that after a short distance, Stanton's footprints were replaced by hoof prints, before a sirocco blew away any trace of them.

"That says to us that he has apparently employed the services of a large, load-bearing quadruped," Yankees GM Brian Cashman said from the darkened room in the bowels of Yankee Stadium, where he is recovering after a pigeon scare the day before.

"Either that—or somehow, he has changed into a horse!  My God, do you think such a thing is possible?  What sort of world is it we're living in today???" Cashman continued, before Yankees creature Lonn Trost abruptly ended the press conference.