Whatever problems teams have experienced against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has not extended to Tampa Bay Rays hitters.
The Rays torched Cole for four first-inning runs, then pulled away on the back of a ten-run sixth inning that saw 15 men come to the plate, as Tampa Bay salvaged the finale of their three game sweep with the Yankees thanks to a 14-0 bludgeoning.
The Rays thought they had pulled out to an early 1-0 lead on a Brandon Lowe solo homer on Cole’s very first pitch of the afternoon, but umpires ruled the ball crossed in front of the right-field foul pole, and he would instead reach on an infield hit. Cole then walked Ji-Man Choi to move Lowe into scoring position, and Yandy Diaz would give the Rays their first run on an RBI single to center.
Austin Meadows followed up with a blast the umpires wouldn’t have to meet up about, as his 19th of the season ended up deep in the seats in right-center, and Tampa Bay had a 4-0 lead.
Lost in the offensive onslaught was a stellar pitching performance led by Luis Patino, who scattered three hits in six shutout frames, striking out a season-best eight.
Tampa Bay’s bats would then make a statement in the sixth with one out, as 11 straight batters would end up reaching safely. Meadows began the streak with a base hit, and Arozarena would follow suit with one of his own. Wander Franco walked to load the bases, and Kevin Kiermaier lifted a deep fly ball to left that Brett Gardner mishandled for an error, allowing both Meadowds and Arozarena to score and make it 6-0, and end Cole’s afternoon.
Reliever Albert Abreu then walked Mike Zunino to reload the bases, and Brett Phillips followed with a grand slam to right, his first of his career and sixth home run of the season to make it 10-0. Lowe drew a walk and Choi’s seventh homer of 2021 pushed the lead to 12-0, and Diaz’s infield single followed by a two-run shot by Meadows, his 20th, that set the scoring at 14-0.
Louis Head allowed one hit in 1 2/3 innings, and Ryan Sherriff got the final four outs to finish off the contest.
The Rays have now beaten Cole in three of his four starts against them this season, and the right-hander, in the second year of a nine-year $324 million deal with the Yankees, is now 1-6 all-time against Tampa Bay in the regular season with a 4.45 ERA.
The victory gets Tampa Bay back to 19 games over .500 at 61-42 on the year.
The Boston Red Sox come to Tropicana Field for a pivotal three-game series beginning on Friday night. Josh Fleming (7-5, 4.07 ERA) will get the start, taking on Martin Perez (7-6, 4.18 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
