New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
No Rays of hope
Tampa continues recent dominance of Yankees
NEW YORK — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson, and the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays kept up their domination of the New York Yankees with a 8-2 win Friday night that set off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption.
Tampa Bay arrived in New York with eight defeats in 11 games and had not held a lead in 25 innings. The young, athletic Rays spurted to an 8-0, seventhinning lead and beat the Yankees for the 16th time in their last 21 meetings, including during last year’s Division Series.
New York dropped to 5-8 and managed a triple crown of failed pitching, hitting and fielding. The Yankees walked seven Rays, had just three hits, struck out 14 times and made three errors that led to three unearned runs.
The game was stopped for about 2 minutes, 15 seconds with Clint Frazier batting in the bottom of the eighth when about a half-dozen balls were thrown on the field from the pandemiclimited crowd of 10,202 on a cool, breezy night with a 45degree temperature at game time.
Michael Wacha (1-1) lowered his ERA from 7.00 to 4.20, allowing one hit in six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and two walks.
Frazier was 0 for 3 with three strikeouts and has no RBIs in 63 plate appearances this year. Aaron Hicks was 0 for 3, dropping to 2 for 26 (.077) left-handed this season. And AL batting champion DJ LeMahieu was 0 for 4, ending his 23-game regular-season hitting streak against the Rays.
Third baseman Gio Urshela allowed Willy Adames’ grounder to bounce off his glove for a run-scoring error in the fourrun fifth, and second baseman Rougned Odor threw past first on what should have been an inning-ending double play
grounder by Randy Arozarena, allowing two more runs.
Nelson (0-2) was no more effective than the previous time manager Aaron Boone used an opener, when Deivi Garcia started Game 2 last year against the Rays and was followed by J.A. Happ in a 7-5 loss.
Gerrit Cole, who starts Sunday’s series finale, is 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA, allowing three runs in 18 1⁄3 innings over three appearances.
The rest of New York’s starters are 1-5 with a 6.45 ERA, giving up 27 runs in 37 2⁄3innings.
Tampa Bay had runners in each of the first six innings. Mike Zunino added a two-run double, one four soft hits in the sixth off Lucas Luetge, who fired his glove at the bench when he reached the dugout.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Trevor Richards.
ANOTHER PLUNKED
Michael King hit Lowe on a forearm with 90.6 mph cutter leading off the third, the sixth batter, including five Rays, hit in four games between the teams this year.
Nelson hit Zunino in last weekend’s series opener, Justin Wilson hit Joey Wendle on Saturday and Jordan Montgomery hit Austin Meadows twice on Sunday, when Cody Reed hit Hicks.
FIELDING FOIBLES
New York has had three or more errors five times in its last 28 regular-season games dating to last season.
HONORING ROBINSON
Because the teams were off Thursday, all players wore No. 42 to honor the 74th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the major league color barrier. Aaron Judge wore spikes colored Dodger blue with No. 42 on the sides.