Devil Rays Got the Better of Yankees in Tampa Despite a Strong Cole Outing
Corey Kluber and Gerrit Cole pitched six scoreless innings even before Tampa Bay Rays scored two late runs to defeat the Yankees 3-1 on Saturday, snapping New York’s four-game winning streak.
Yandy Diaz hit a game-tying infield single in the 7th, and Manuel Margot’s hitting streak extended to 15 games with an RBI single in the 8th.
Kluber is supposed to allow one run on 3 hits while striking out 5.
Cole struck out ten batters while allowing one run on two hits and 3 walks.
J.P. Feyereisen (4-0) earned the victory in his nineteenth scoreless relief presence. Colin Poche came in to pitch the ninth inning for his 2nd save in 2 tries. Jason Adam pitched an inning as well in the four-hitter.
And with the score tied at one, Kevin Kiermaier led off the Rays’ seventh inning with a single on reliever Lucas Luetge’s 1st pitch (1-2). Francisco Mejia tried to follow with the game’s key hit, a right-field line popup that fell for a double while second baseman Gleyber Torres overran the ball.
On a grounder, Kiermaier has been thrown out at the plate by the first baseman Anthony Rizzo, and yet Diaz followed with a chopper down the third-base line for a 2-1 lead.
Wander Franco helped lead off the eighth inning for the Rays and scored on Margot’s hit.
Cole retired fourteen straight batters after walking Yandy Diaz to start the game before allowing Mejia’s two-out single in the 5th.
Cole is 1-6 in 12 career starts against the Buccaneers. He did throw 105 pitches, 26 of which were in the 1st and 6th innings.
Cole’s 44th double-digit strikeout match since the beginning of the 2018 season was the most of any majors during that time.
With 2 outs in the 6th, Cole walked Ji-Man Choi and Franco, and Randy Arozarena decided to drive in Tampa Bay’s 1st run with a single, the Rays’ 2nd hit.
DJ LeMahieu started the game with a double, his first hit since missing four games. Following Aaron Judge’s single, Rizzo delivered a sacrifice fly for the Yankees’ lone run.
Since scoring in only one of the 1st 23 innings of the series, the Rays broke through with 6 hits and 3 runs in the innings.
19 of the last 20 Yankee batters were retired by Kluber and 3 relievers.
UP NEXT
On six days’ rest, RHP Luis Severino (3-0, 3.02) will pitch for the Yankees against LHP Shane McClanahan (4-2, 2.06) in the series finale on Sunday. McClanahan is 0-2 in his career against the Yankees.
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