Rays down Yankees in MLB opener
Archer delivers seven solid innings in 7-3 victory while Tampa hitters maul Tanaka
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Pitch by pitch, Chris Archer set the tone for what he and the Tampa Bay Rays hope will be a bounce-back year.
Not such a good start for Masahiro Tanaka and the New York Yankees.
Archer pitched seven solid innings, and the Rays roughed up Tanaka on the way to beating New York 7-3 in the first game of the new Major League Baseball season Sunday.
“We didn’t play perfect, but we played well enough to win,” Archer said.
“We scored a lot of runs and made some nice defensive plays. It’s all about winning, and we did that.”
And what the Rays didn’t do a lot of last season, when they sank to the bottom of the AL East with their worst finish (68-94) since 2007.
New York lost on opening day for the sixth consecutive year, with Tanaka matching the shortest start ever by a Yankees pitcher in an opener.
“It happens. He’s human,” Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild said.
“He just didn’t command anything . ... He usually self corrects real well. But today, he tried a few things and it just didn’t work.”
Evan Longoria and Logan Morrison homered and drove in three runs apiece before a sellout crowd of 31,042 at Tropicana Field.
Tanaka, who had baseball’s lowest ERA in spring training, was tagged for a career-worst seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.
A first-time All-Star in 2015 who lost an AL-leading 19 times last season, Archer (1-0) limited New York to two runs and seven hits. He narrowly escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to turn a five-run lead over to a revamped bullpen.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said it was important to give his ace an opportunity to get through the seventh.
“I’m really happy he did, not only for my sake, but the other guys on the staff, too,” Archer said.
“I want them to know that, when stuff gets hairy, you need to strap it on and go right after them. We don’t need to be bailed out, we need to get out of the inning.” The Rays got off to a quick start. Leadoff man Corey Dickerson singled in the bottom of the first inning for the first hit of the season and later scored on Longoria’s sacrifice fly as part of a three-run inning. Longoria connected for a two-run drive in the second.
Aaron Judge had an RBI double, while Starlin Castro and Chase Headley each had three hits for the Yankees.
Tanaka (0-1) made his third consecutive opening day start for the Yankees, and had been 6-0 with a 2.82 ERA in eight career starts against Tampa Bay. He gave up eight hits and two walks.
Longoria connected for his fourth homer on opening day.
Morrison, who didn’t drive in a run until May 17 last season, added a solo drive in the third.
“Obviously, you just have to accept it. I can’t take it back,” Tanaka said through a translator.
“So, the main thing is, I really need to move forward from today. Make the necessary adjustments.”
UNCHARACTERISTIC: Tanaka had won all three of his previous career starts at Tropicana Field. It was the second-shortest start of Tanaka’s career.