The Rays keep finding ways to separate themselves in the AL East, and Tuesday night it was a mix of thunder and strikeouts that did the job. Tampa Bay beat the Yankees 6-4, stretched its division lead to four games, and got there with back-to-back homers from Hunter Feduccia and Yandy Díaz plus a huge night from Ian Seymour.
Seymour was the headliner on the mound. He punched out 12 over 5⅓ innings, becoming the first pitcher in 50 years to strike out that many Yankees through five innings.
He gave up three runs on five hits, didn’t issue a walk, and moved to 6-1. Bryan Baker finished it off in the ninth for his 24th save.
New York’s night at the plate came with a strange kind of volume. The Yankees struck out 17 times for the second straight game, making them the first American League team ever to do that in consecutive nine-inning games.
Griffin Jax had already struck out 10 Yankees in Monday’s 5-1 Rays loss, and on Tuesday Seymour plus four relievers matched the total again. Paul Goldschmidt and Jose Caballero each went down four times, and Goldschmidt is now stuck in an 0-for-30 slump.
Even so, the Yankees did manage 11 hits, their first double-digit hit total since June 17, but it still wasn’t enough to stop their slide. They’ve now lost 10 of their last 12.
The turning point came in the fourth, when Tampa Bay erased a 3-2 deficit and turned the game on its head with a four-run burst against Will Warren. Richie Palacios tied it with an RBI double, Feduccia followed with a two-run shot to right-center, and Díaz immediately added his 13th homer of the year. Díaz had already singled in a run in the second, giving him 451 RBIs with the Rays and moving him past Aubrey Huff for fifth place in franchise history.
New York did get a jolt from Ben Rice, who drove a three-run homer in the third for his 26th of the season and second of the series. Rice, who will represent the Yankees in the Home Run Derby, also had two singles. Afterward, Aaron Boone said the team won’t make a wholesale change to its approach, though he acknowledged several hitters need to get going as the Yankees keep falling behind the first-place Rays.
The four-game set continues Wednesday with Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole (3-3, 4.01 ERA) set to face Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan (7-5, 3.05).
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Aroldis Chapman has emerged as one of the more intriguing names in that market, and his numbers with Boston help explain why. The left-hander has a 2.36 ERA with 18 saves in 28 appearances, production that would give the Rays another proven option in high-leverage spots if they decide to make a move. For a team trying to stay ahead in a crowded race, that kind of upgrade is hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
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Yankees Fans Have Been Waiting For Ben Rice To Reach This Stage
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One of the more interesting additions is Ben Rice, who is set to take part for the first time as the Yankees keep watching his profile rise in a very different kind of spotlight. Philadelphia could still get a pair of hometown-relevant names in Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper if everything lines up, while Pete Crow-Armstrong has already bowed out, leaving the rest of the field to take shape around a few unresolved decisions. [Read more 🡒]