The New York Yankees had double trouble last night at the Stadium in the Bronx. That double trouble was pitching. Masahiro Tanaka didn’t have it last night, and the Tampa Bay Rays Blake Snell did. The Yankees again played a game without their “A” lineup. Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and DJ LaMahieu were all still on the IL. The “B” squad led off by Luke Voit, just couldn’t solve Blake Snell in the early going.
Neither team did anything off of each other in the first two innings, but that all changed in the third when the Yankees Masahiro Tanaka gave up four runs to the Rays. At that point, the game was lost for the Yankees. To start the inning Kevin Kiermaier tripled, Perez singles driving in Kiermaier. Tanaka then gives up his third hit in a row to Meadows, and in his fourth straight hit in a row, Brandon Lowe sent one over the dead center wall, for the Rays 4-0 lead.
At the bottom of the third inning, Snell again shut down the Yankees. At the top of the fourth Tanaka allowed another two Rays runners. Tanaka then threw a pitch low but right down the middle and catcher Sanchez committed a passed ball scoring another Ray’s run, for the 5-0 lead. In the bottom of the frame, Sanchez was first up, and in partial atonement, homered, but it was too late, however, the Yankees did get on the scoreboard.
In a puzzling decision, manager Aaron Boone sent Tanaka back out to pitch, already behind 5-1. Boone paid for the decision, when the first batter he faced, Austin Meadows, greeted Tanaka with a home run into centerfield for the 6-1 Rays lead. That home run did knock Tanaka out of the game. Nick Nelson finished the inning not allowing another run.
It looked like things might change for the New York Yankees, when with one on base Luke Voit hit his third homer in two nights, making it 6-3 Rays. At the bottom of the seventh inning, Diego Castillo loaded up the bases with Yankees. It looked like the Yankees could finally take the lead in the game, but Castillo struck out Voit for the second out, and got Gio Urshela to ground out, allowing him to get out of trouble, leaving the bases loaded with Yankees.
Ray’s relievers Anderson and Roe combined for the last two scoreless innings and that was the game. Final score the Rays 6 and the Yankees 3. Masahiro Tanaka took the loss, Snell the win, and Roe the save for the Rays.
So, the Yankees lose their first game in the last eight games and their first game of the season at Yankee Stadium. On Wednesday night the Rays will face Yankee ace, Gerrit Cole, as he tries for his fifth win of the season. The Yankees have won all of his starts. The Yankees will face Tyler Glasnow. The Yankees, in their only win during the last Rays series, beat Glasnow, who didn’t make into the third inning in the loss.