Gerrit Cole pitched a no-hitter into the eighth inning, Aaron Hicks hit a game-tying triple in the ninth, and Manuel Margot slammed into the right-field wall as the New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Monday night.
New York has won 17 of its last 19 games, and its 50-17 record is the best in the majors since the Seattle Mariners in 2001. The Yankees opened a 12-game lead over second-place Toronto, while Tampa Bay fell to fourth in the AL East, 14 games back.
Margot sprained his knee, and Rays manager Kevin Cash expects him to be out for an extended period of time.
Cole struck out 12 batters and walked three in 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run and one hit. Cole struck out six batters in a row at one point and led 2-0 when Isaac Paredes led off the eighth inning by grounding a slider off the mound and into center field on Cole’s 105th pitch. Cole pitched 6 2/3 perfect innings against Detroit on June 3.
Judge didn’t realize Cole was flirting with a no-hitter until the sixth inning.
Clay Holmes (5-0) blew a 2-0 advantage and allowed his 1st run since opening day, snapping a scoreless streak of 31 1/3 innings.
Anthony Rizzo hit a first-inning home run off Shane McClanahan, and the Yankees scored in the seventh on an error by first baseman Ji-Man Choi, the Rays’ 45th unearned run.
With one out in the ninth and the score 2-2, Josh Donaldson singled off Jason Adam (0-2) and Hicks, batting. 321 drove a hanging changeup high off the right-field wall in June. Margot was thrown to the ground as center fielder Brett Phillips recovered the ball and Donaldson scored. Margot, who had a sprained knee and had to leave the field on a cart, was attended to by Cash and an athletic trainer.
Jose Trevino then hit a sacrifice fly. Wandy Peralta pitched the ninth for his second save of the season, and the Yankees improved to 6-2 against the Rays this season, striking out Josh Lowe with two outs and retiring Francisco Meja on a flyout.
Lowe flew out to Judge against the center field wall after Paredes singled off a clearly deflated Cole, and Holmes was relieved.
Meja doubled down the right-field line, and Yandy Daz hit a soft bouncer to Holmes, who threw to first for the out, scoring only the second of 13 runners he inherited this season.
Margot hit a bouncer to third base, and Holmes’ throw to first was offline and not in time, allowing Margot to reach with a single and Meja to score to tie the game at 2-2.
Rizzo hit his 19th home run of the season, becoming only the second left-handed batter this season to do so after Seattle’s Jesse Winker.
UP NEXT
LHP Nestor Cortes (6-2, 1.94) will make his third start of the season against the Rays on Tuesday night against an unnamed starter. Cortes gave up one run on four hits in eight innings in a 7-2 win at Tropicana Field on May 26.
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