The Rays were ready to wrap up their four-game series against the Yankees and hopefully come away with a series win. To get there, they had Drew Rasmussen on the mound, and they’d be facing off against a rotating series of Yankees relievers. Hmm, wonder where they got that idea from.
Rasmussen got the Yankees out in order in the top of the first. In the home half, the Rays struck early. With two outs, Junior Caminero did some practice for the Home Run Derby by getting a solo homer.
In the second, the Yankees once again went 1-2-3. In the bottom of the inning, Ben Williamson got a two-out single, then stole second, but the Rays weren’t able to bring him home.
The Yankees unfortunately got one back. Max Schuemann got a leadoff double, then Ryan McMahon doubled right behind him to score a run. With one out, Trent Grisham singled to score McMahon. Ben Rice then homered, and though the call was reviewed, the home run call stood, and two more runs scored. Jasson Dominguez then singled, and it was safe to say this is not the kind of inning we usually expect from Drew. Dominguez stole second, then a single from Cody Bellinger bumped him over to third. Old friend but current enemy Jose Caballero singled to score another run, and that was it for Rasmussen. Very, very not ideal outing. Cam Booser replaced him. Jazz Chisholm Jr hit a sac fly to score Bellinger. Caballero stole second and then was able to advance to third on a throwing error from Nick Fortes. They finally got the last out of the inning but oh boy, that was a rough watch.
While I didn’t expect the Rays to dip into their bullpen first, the Yankees did follow suit, bringing in Jake Bird, and now it was bullpen versus bullpen. Nick Fortes walked, then back-to-back singles from Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda loaded the bases. Caminero grounded into a fielder’s choice that eliminated Aranda but scored Fortes. Ryan Yarbrough replaced Bird, and Victor Mesa Jr. hit a ground-rule double to score Diaz. Now that’s how you chip away at a lead. They would only get the two runs on the inning, but they were already getting deeper into the Yankees’ pen, so if they could keep playing small ball to get more runs, things might not be as dire as they seemed just a few minutes earlier.
With one out in the fourth, Austin Wells hit a solo home run just to ruin my day. Two outs followed. In the home half, Chandler Simpson got a leadoff triple. Two outs followed, and then Yarbrough was replaced by Camilo Doval who got the final out of the inning.
The Rays went back to their bullpen for Casey Legumina in the fifth and he gave up a leadoff walk to Dominguez. With one out, Caballero laid down a sac bunt to get Dominguez to second. Chisolm Jr. was intentionally walked, and then Schuemann was hit by a pitch to load the bases. But you can let out that breath you’re holding because Legumina got out of the jam and the inning ended with no runs scored. Phew. In the home half, Aranda got a one-out walk, then Caminero was hit by a pitch. Brent Headrick came in from the Yankees’ bullpen, and got the final two outs of the inning.
Wells got a leadoff walk in the sixth. Grisham then doubled, and Rice hit a home run. Three outs followed, but safe to say things weren’t really going all that great. In the home half, Simpson got a leadoff triple, and a Williamson single brought him home. With one out, Fortes singled, and then he was eliminated by a force-out off the bat of Diaz. The Rays left them stranded after that, and the score through six was 10-4.
Craig Kimbrel came out for the Rays in the seventh. Schuemann got a one-out single, then stole second. McMahon then doubled, bringing another run in for the Yankees. Kimbrel got the next two outs, keeping the damage limited. Angel Chivilli was the new Yankees’ pitcher in the bottom of the inning and he got the Rays out in order.
Chris Roycroft was the new Rays’ pitcher and at this point I feel like Cash is just going for an all “C” reliever cast today for funsies. Rice walked, Dominguez singled, then Bellinger singled to score yet another run. A flyout and double play ended the inning. The Rays went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth.
Position player pitching time! And an alphabetical switch-up as well, as Ben Williamson came in to pitch for the ninth. Why not! He got the side out in order which might make him the best reliever of the game. Tim Hill came in to finish things out for the Yankees, and Aranda got a two-out single. It was not the start of a rally, though, as the final out came with the next at-bat and the Yankees took the game. The series was ultimately a draw.
Final: Yankees 12, Rays 4
