Blake Perkins helps deliver a win on his first Mother's Day without his

Had Brandon Lockridge not been injured in the game May 8 and landed on the injured list, Blake Perkins would have been playing for Class AAA Nashville on Mother's Day. But the outfielder believes things happen for a reason and after finding himself starting in right field Sunday, he delivered the game's biggest hit up to Brice Turang's walk-off home run with a two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers ' eventual 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees. The moment meant the world to Perkins, who lost his mother , Carisa Sharrett, to colon cancer last July 3.

"Just grateful I got to play today," said Perkins. "Obviously to come through in that spot is great. But yeah, it's been a lot of emotions for me today – mostly joy and just getting to play for my mom.

I have so many friends and family members back home who are supporting me. "It's joy. " So much is made of Mother's Day every season by Major League Baseball, with players swinging pink bats and sporting pink accountrements of every kind, that it wouldn't have been surprising to hear Perkins say he had a difficult time focusing on the task at hand considering what he went through last year.

But he emphasized that wasn't the case. "Once I got out there and the game started it was all good," he said. "I'd say the pre-game stuff, just getting ready – I'm not saying it was bad emotion, but it's the first time, the first year I've celebrated this holiday without her.