Rays turn aside Yankees to avoid 4-game sweep
Wilmer Font held the highscoring Yankees as the Rays held off New York 3-1 Sunday to avoid a sweep.
Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash has had to defend his strategy using relievers as starters time and time again.
At least this time, the defense came after the formula led his team to a victory.
Wilmer Font held the highscoring Yankees in check and the Rays stopped New York 3-1 Sunday to avoid a four-game sweep.
“We’re doing everything we can (and) what we think is right to win games,” Cash said. “When we win, yeah, we like it. When we lose, it’s grueling.”
In his third start of the season, Font turned in his best performance of the year in any role, allowing just one run in 4 2-3 innings with five strikeouts. The right-hander, who also has eight relief appearances, matched a career-high with 74 pitches.
Tampa Bay, which has been hurt by injuries to its rotation, employed a reliever to open for the 15th time in 29 games. Entering the game, relievers working as starters had allowed 13 earned
runs in 18 innings.
“Today he gave us a huge boost,” Cash said of the 28year old right-hander. “He probably got a little deeper in the game than what we even anticipated.”
Matt Duffy drove in two runs with a second-inning single for his first multi-RBI game in over a month. The infielder, who missed 2017 while undergoing two Achilles surgeries, is hitting .352 (25 for 71) with seven RBI
over his last 18 contests.
“I typically don’t see CC too well,” Duffy said. “That wasn’t the greatest pitch to hit, but when you’re going well, those seem to fall.”
Carlos Gomez had an RBI double as Tampa Bay scored all three runs in the second against CC Sabathia (4-2). The left-hander pitched into the eighth inning for the first time this season and struck out 10 for just the second time since the start of 2014.
“I just tried to be really aggressive because they were aggressive,” Sabathia said.
Tampa Bay defeated
New York for the first time this season. The Yankees opened the season with five straight wins, outscoring the Rays 31-10 over the games, and was trying for a four-game sweep. The Rays are 5-18 in their last 23 games at Yankee Stadium.
Chaz Roe (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory. Sergio Romo, who has also drawn five starts this season, closed for his third save in six chances.
Rookie Willy Adames singled to lead off the Rays second. Adeiny Hechavarria, who missed nearly
a month with a strained hamstring, singled for the first of his three hits. Gomez doubled and Duffy delivered a two-out single.
Hechavarria also robbed rookie sensation Gleyber Torres of a base hit with dive and throw from shortstop in the seventh inning.
New York matched its lowest run total at home this season.
Aaron Judge and Didi Gregorius worked twoout walks against Jose Alvarado in the fifth, but the hard-throwing lefty struck out Giancarlo Stanton on four pitches.