Wander Franco had three hits and two RBIs in his return from the injured list and the visiting Tampa Bay Rays capitalized on a pair of defensive miscues by Aaron Hicks en route to a 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night.
Franco had been out for two months due to surgery to repair his right hamate bone. One of his hits was a two-run double off Frankie Montas (5-12) that Hicks misplayed to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning.
With two outs, Franco hit a fly ball that hooked toward the foul line. The ball popped in and out Hicks’ glove, allowing Ji-Man Choi to score, and Yandy Diaz also came home when Hicks crashed into the side wall and appeared to be unable to briefly locate the ball.
Randy Arozarena hit the next pitch for an RBI double that went over Hicks’ head as the left fielder appeared to get turned around.
Arozarena also hit an RBI double three batters into the game and had three hits for the surging Rays (78-58) in the opener of a three-game series.
Tampa Bay beat the Yankees (83-56) for the fifth time in the past seven meetings and moved within 3 1/2 games of the AL East leaders. It is the closest the Rays have been to first place since they were three games out on May 9.
The Rays, who improved to 9-1 in their past 10 games, have gained 8 1/2 games on the Yankees since mid-August. New York lost its second straight following a four-game winning streak.
Hicks was pulled after the Yankees batted in the fourth.
New York slugger Aaron Judge singled twice, including a run-scoring hit in the seventh.
Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen (10-4) returned from the paternity list and recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts in six scoreless innings. He allowed six singles and no walks. Rasmussen ended his outing by fanning Miguel Andujar and retiring pinch hitter Giancarlo Stanton on a grounder with two on.
Rays reliever Jalen Beeks stranded Judge by striking out Gleyber Torres to end the seventh, and Brooks Raley tossed a scoreless eighth. J.T. Chargois allowed a homer to Kyle Higashioka in the ninth and walked Judge before Shawn Armstrong retired Torres on a flyout for his second save.
Montas allowed four runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings with four walks and four strikeouts. He dropped to 1-3 in seven starts since being obtained from the Oakland A’s at the trade deadline.
–Field Level Media
