The New York Yankees are spiraling out of control right now, and there doesn’t necessarily seem to be a light and the end of the tunnel. In a rubber matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees would have Nestor Cortes go up against Shane Baz with a chance to win their first series in a month. They haven’t won back-to-back games in nearly a month, and their response to such a big game was the same response as we’ve seen them have for weeks. The offense couldn’t come through in big spots, their starter didn’t give them enough length, and they lost another series in July.
Baltimore is up next, and while they’re slumping, so were the Rays when the Yankees came into town. Things look grim in Yankee land, and the All-Star Break really couldn’t come any sooner.
Yankees Can’t Get the Big Start or Big Hit in Series Finale
The Yankees opened the game with a prime opportunity to take an early lead, something they haven’t done much of as of late. Alex Verdugo singled and Juan Soto doubled, setting up runners at second and third with nobody out, but Aaron Judge flew out without scoring a run and Ben Rice struck out to spoil a perfect opportunity. Gleyber Torres struck out to end the frame, and the Rays would respond by quickly ambushing Nestor Cortes with a two-run blast just two hitters into his outing.
Austin Wells and Juan Soto would hit solo blasts in the following two innings to knot things up at two, but Nestor Cortes would get lit up for three more runs in the bottom of the third. The Rays would get a lead they didn’t relinquish for the rest of the game, as while Ben Rice picked up a sacrifice fly to make it a two-run game, the Yankees would fail to do much of anything in big spots.
Their only hit with runners in scoring position came in the top of the ninth, where Ben Rice ripped an RBI single into right field to make it a one-run game.
If there’s one positive from this game, it’s what the bullpen was able to do, as they shut down the Rays’ offense for the remainder of the game and kept the Yankees in it. Michael Tonkin immediately got a double play ball with the bases loaded and struck out the side in the next inning, continuing to be a revelation in their bullpen. Jake Cousins struck out the side as well, being mightily impressive since returning to the team in their recent roster shuffles.
Even Caleb Ferguson fired a scoreless frame, but it wouldn’t result in a win for the Bronx Bombers. They’ll head to Baltimore this weekend as they take on the first-place Baltimore Orioles, and it’ll be a chance for them to make a dent in the AL East standings as the Orioles are slumping.