After Yanks rally past Rays, AL East foes return favor
A day after a stirring comeback by the Yankees against the Rays, their divisional foes turned the tables Saturday, as Austin Meadows hit a one-out homer off Luis Cessa in the top of the 11th in a 2-1, 11-inning Yankees loss in The Bronx. Jose Alvarado, who blew Friday’s game, picked up the save Saturday. Luke Voit opened the bottom of the 11th with a single and was replaced by pinch-runner Thairo Estrada. Aaron Hicks followed by getting ahead, 3-1 before striking out. Gary Sanchez, who struck out in his first four at-bats, hit into a game-ending double play. The defeat snapped the Yankees’ four-game winning streak and sent the Rays back into first place in the division by a halfgame. “We got a chance to do something there — and you expect it — but they got us today,’’ manager Aaron Boone said of the 11th inning opportunity with the heart of the order coming up. Yankees relievers had retired 13 straight before the Meadows homer, but prior to that, Tommy Kahnle allowed a game-tying homer to Brandon Lowe to open the seventh, erasing a 1-0 lead. Masahiro Tanaka also suffered a contusion when he took a hard grounder by Yandy Diaz off his right shin to end the sixth. Xrays were negative, but Tanaka was unsure if he would be able to make his next start. Tanaka, who had his best splitter of the season at Tampa Bay in his previous outing, was excellent again Saturday.
He allowed just three hits and struck out six in six shutout innings before being drilled in the shin. Though his splitter was good for a second straight start, he still hasn’t had the devastating pitch for most of this season.
He certainly wasn’t the issue Saturday, as the Yankees’ lineup was mostly shut down by Tampa Bay ace Blake Snell and five relievers.
The Yankees loaded the bases in the third for Hicks, who picked up his first hit of the season in the first inning. This time, though, Hicks went down swinging for the second out.
Snell’s wild pitch with Sanchez at the plate allowed Brett Gardner to score and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Snell got Sanchez swinging on a 3-2 fastball to end the inning.
With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Snell threw away Hicks’ slow roller and Hicks advanced to second. Sanchez struck out before Gleyber Torres singled to left.
Third-base coach Phil Nevin initially waved Hicks home on the hit to short left and then tried to stop him, but Hicks attempted to score.
Meadows’ throw, though slightly up the third base line, still got Hicks at the plate to keep it a one-run game.
“By the time he gave me the stop sign, I was already committed,’’ Hicks said. “I took a chance right there to try to score and I didn’t make it.’’
Kahnle entered to start the seventh and immediately gave up a homer to the leftyswinging Lowe to tie the game. It was the first earned run allowed by Kahnle since April 10.
Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman and Jonathan Holder pitched scoreless innings, but Tampa Bay’s bullpen matched them frame for frame.
Emilio Pagan struck out Torres to start the bottom of the ninth before Friday’s hero, Gio Urshela, fouled off seven straight 2-2 pitches then sent one to the track in center, where Kevin Kiermaier made the play.
Boone then went to Cessa after warming up Adam Ottavino in the seventh. Ottavino sat down after Kahnle allowed the game-tying homer, but said he could have pitched the 11th.
“We were gonna turn Cessa loose and have him pitch a few innings if we needed it,’’ Boone said of the move. “We were comfortable with how it rolled out.”