Tanaka tagged in loss to Rays

NEW YORK — Brandon Lowe homered for the fifth time in six games, Austin Meadows also connected and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the AL Eastleading New York Yankees 6-3 Tuesday night.

The second-place Rays cut their deficit to 11⁄2 games in the opener of this threegame set. Tampa Bay has won four of five in the season series.

Luke Voit hit his third homer in two days and Gary Sánchez also went deep, but New York ended a six-game winning streak and dropped to 10-1 at Yankee Stadium this season.

Kevin Kiermaier lined a one-out triple in the third inning and scored on a hit by nine-hole hitter Michael Perez. Meadows followed

with a base hit, and then Lowe drilled a three-run shot to center off Masahiro Tanaka (0-1) for a 4-0 lead.

Lowe is batting .500 with 11 runs and 13 RBIs over his last seven games.

Tanaka had difficulty locating his pitches and was hit hard, charged with six runs — five earned — and eight hits over four innings.

Blake Snell (2-0) entered the night 1-5 with a 5.82 ERA in 11 career starts at Yankee Stadium. The 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner worked around leadoff runners in the first three innings and got through the fifth, allowing three runs, four hits and two walks.

Willy Adames scored on a passed ball by Gary Sánchez in the fourth. Meadows went deep to lead off the fifth, chasing Tanaka.

Sánchez clubbed a solo shot in the fourth, his fifth of the year and fifth career homer against Snell.

Voit hit a two-run homer in the fifth, cutting the lead to 6-3 with his eighth of the season. The hulking first baseman started in the leadoff spot for the first time in his career as manager Aaron Boone shuffles a lineup missing injured stars Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu.

New York loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but reliever Diego Castillo retired Voit and Gio Urshela to end the threat.

Nick Anderson and Chaz Roe combined for a scoreless eighth and ninth, with Roe converting his first save opportunity.

SHUFFLING THE DECK

The Rays acquired righthander Edgar Garcia from Philadelphia for a player to be named later and signed free agent left-hander Dietrich

Enns to a minor league contract. Both players will report to the club’s alternate site.

To make room, Tampa Bay designated infielder Daniel Robertson for assignment.

The Yankees recalled righty Nick Nelson from their alternate site, optioning fellow reliever Ben Heller. They also signed veteran shortstop Jordy Mercer to a minor league deal.

Nelson pitched three shutout frames.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: RF Aaron Judge (strained right calf ) took batting practice and could be activated for Saturday’s showdown with the crosstown Mets, the first day the slugger is eligible to return . ... C Kyle Higashioka (strained right oblique) continues to ramp up from a workload standpoint but is not expected back soon.

Kathy Willens / Associated Press Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, center, talks to starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka during the fifth inning against the Rays on Tuesday.