The big bats at the top of the Tampa Bay Rays’ lineup came through Saturday against the New York Yankees.
The Rays will try for a similar result on Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of the three-game series in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Yankees posted a 2-0 win on Friday before the Rays responded with a 7-2 decision Saturday.
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash’s crew managed a pedestrian eight hits on Saturday but made them count. Six were for extra bases, including home runs by Randy Arozarena and Yandy Diaz.
Diaz and Arozarena — batting first and second, respectively, in the lineup — combined to go 5-for-7 with the two homers, three doubles, five runs, six RBIs and a walk. Most of the damage was done against New York nemesis Nestor Cortes.
“It’s a different offense, obviously as we can see, when those guys are delivering at the level they’re capable of,” Cash said. “Bunch of good at-bats and hard-hit balls. Nestor Cortes has given us fits in the past. I thought we had a good approach and made him work a little bit. We got ourselves in hitters’ counts … and were able to get some big hits.”
The Rays, who climbed back to .500 with the victory, are 40-31 against their division rival since 2020 and 2-3 this season.
Tampa Bay reliever Jason Adam, who got a big, inning-ending deep out against slugger Juan Soto, said the rivalry is unique.
“It’s not your typical rivalry based on geography,” Adam said. “I think it’s just the fact that both of us have winning the AL East in our sights every year, and we stand in each other’s way. … I love these series because it’s always a battle.”
The Yankees’ vaunted Nos. 2-3-4 hitters – Soto, Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo – are a combined 0-for-21 with four strikeouts, two walks and a hit by pitch over the first two contests of the series.
On Friday and Saturday, respectively, Judge and Soto each hit long flies that were caught on the warning track.
If Soto’s deep drive off Adam in the seventh would have gone over the wall, the Yankees would have taken a 5-4 lead.
“After seeing Judge’s not go out yesterday … you hit two balls 108 (mph) to that spot, it’s a little, yeah, I mean those are homers,” New York manager Aaron Boone said.
His club fell to 7-3 in May, losing two of its last three contests, and is 13-9 on the road this season.
Off to a great start, Yankees right-hander Luis Gil (3-1, 2.92 ERA) will try to win his third consecutive start on Sunday.
In the previous two victories, the 25-year-old Dominican allowed just one run and three hits over 12 1/3 innings. He posted 10 strikeouts and five walks and surrendered a homer to Houston’s Kyle Tucker on Tuesday.
In his only career appearance against the Rays, on April 21, Gil earned his first win of the season and second of his career by yielding just one unearned run and two hits in 5 2/3 frames.
The Rays on Sunday will turn to left-hander Tyler Alexander (1-1, 4.96 ERA), who is 0-1 with a 2.03 ERA in four career appearances (two starts) against the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
