For the second consecutive night, the Tampa Bay Rays saw their bats stay relatively quiet in the Bronx, falling for a second straight time to the New York Yankees, this time by a 4-3 decision Wednesday.
After averaging almost eight runs a game through the second half of May, and hitting almost .300 with runners in scoring position, the Yankees pitching again stymied Tampa Bay’s bats. The Rays went just 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position Wednesday after going 1 for 11 the previous evening.
The Yankees jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with two outs following a Giancarlo Stanton single and a fielder’s choice by Aaron Judge that erased Stanton. Gio Urshela turned around a Shane McClanahan pitch into the seats in right for his sixth home run of the season.
Tampa Bay had an opportunity for a big inning in the fourth as Austin meadows led off with a base hit and moved to third on a double by Mike Brosseau. Manuel Margot then grounded to shortstop, and while Meadows was able to score, Brosseau was tagged out trying to advance to third base, short-circuiting the inning.
New York added on to their lead in the bottom of the inning, as the Yankees loaded the bases on a double by Gleyber Torres, a base hit by Rougned Odor, and a walk to Gary Sanchez. McClanahan struck out Miguel Andujar before manager Kevin Cash went to the bullpen and brought in Ryan Thompson. Thompson got a ground ball from Clint Frazier, but it evaded all the infielders and got into center field to score two runs.
Yandy Diaz‘s sacrifice fly in the fifth cut the deficit back to 4-2, and Ji-Man Choi‘s pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh got the Rays back to within a run.
But Tampa Bay would get no closer despite getting a runner on in the eighth with Margot drawing awalk against Chad Green, and Aroldis Chapman walking Taylor Walls and Mike Zunino in the ninth.
Ryan Yarbrough will look to salvage a split of the four-game series Thursday afternoon, taking on Gerrit Cole. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.
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.
