Rays Lose Third Straight as Cam Schlittler Dominates in Yankees Series Opener

The Tampa Bay Rays have now lost 3 games in a row. 

After ending the month of June and rolling into July hot on a 9-game winning streak, the bleeding didn’t stop after a recent series loss to the Houston Astros. The Rays fell to the New York Yankees on Monday night, 5-1, in a crucial 4-game series opener at Tropicana Field.

Here is what you need to know about the contest. 

Rays had no answer for Schlittler.

Yankees ace Cam Schlittler added more to his AL Cy Young resume on Monday after going 8 strong innings and only allowing 4 hits in the contest. The right hander struck out eight Rays batters and did not surrender a single walk during the game. 

With the Rays' bats beginning to slump, if a pitcher is on his game like Schlittler was on Monday, it is nearly impossible to escape with the victory. 

Bats Continue to Stay Quiet

It was another bad night at the plate for the Rays, and it’s beginning to get concerning once more. With the offense nearly absent during this 3-game losing streak, it is giving early June vibes, when the Rays went into a slump and lost the AL East lead. 

On Monday, the team only recorded 4 hits, with two of them coming from Richie Palacios at the bottom of the order. The team also struck out 9 times. 

Caballero Goes off Against Former Team

On top of the Rays bats being quiet, a former Rays player suited up for New York and got his revenge. José Caballero, who was traded to the Yankees from Tampa Bay last summer, hit two home runs in the game and collected 4 RBIs in the process. 

He had a great night against his former team, going 2-for-3 with those two long balls. 

Other than Caballero, it wasn’t a terrible night for Rays pitching. They allowed 2 home runs, but they also struck out 17 Yankees batters during the contest. Starter Griffin Jax picked up 10 punchouts and retired the first 13 batters he faced. The bullpen was also great during the outing. 

Once again, the offense gave hardly any run support, which led to the third straight loss of the season. 

The Rays will be back in action on Tuesday as they will look to even the series with the Yankees at home. Ian Seymour (5-1, 4.02 ERA) will get the start for Tampa Bay and will take on right hander Will Warren (7-3, 3.73 ERA) for the Yankees. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM EST.