The Tampa Bay Rays split their road series with the New York Yankees after a 2-0 loss Sunday in the Bronx. Despite another dominant outing from Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay’s offense stranded nine runners before Aaron Judge delivered a walk-off homer in the ninth inning.
The Tampa Bay Rays couldn't take both games against the New York Yankees, as they fell in a shutout and split the series on the road.
The Rays fall 2-0 to the New York Yankees after some late-game heroics. Tampa Bay struggled on offense, getting runners on base but not into scoring position. They had plenty of traffic, recording seven hits on the day and five walks, but couldn't find a way to make it work on the scoreboard with runners in scoring position and left nine on base in the contest. Yankees pitcher Ryan Weathers had a great outing, pitching seven scoreless innings and recording four strikeouts against the Rays. The Yankees' bullpen followed suit to continue keeping Tampa Bay scoreless, heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.
It was another great outing for the Tampa Bay Rays' starting pitching staff as Drew Rasmussen gave seven strong innings. He kept the Yankees scoreless and only allowed five hits, and picked up six strikeouts. It was easily his best outing of the season, as it was the first time all year he recorded outs in the seventh and only the second time he pitched shutout baseball, both against the Yankees.
The bullpen couldn't keep the Yankees away forever, however, as Kevin Kelly allowed a walk-off home run by Aaron Judge in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the team a 2-0 win over the Rays.
The Rays only found two extra-base hits in the contest, each a double from Nick Fortes and one from Yandy Díaz. The rest was inconsistent when it came to the Rays' offense, one that limited them from winning this ballgame.
Tampa Bay will split the two games in the Bronx with the Yankees and still hold a 4.5-game lead against their division foes. The team is set to take on the Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards beginning Monday to finish the road trip.
The starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles for Monday's game has yet to be determined. As for the Rays, they'll go with Shane McClanahan (5-2, 2.82 ERA) as he looks to continue his resurgence of a season on the mound. First pitch for the series opener at Camden Yards is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. Eastern.
