The Rays ran into a wall in the Bronx on Tuesday afternoon, and the Yankees didn’t need much offense to hand them a 2-0 loss in the first game of the doubleheader.
With both clubs already headed to the postseason, the Rays were trying to do a little more than just get through the day. They wanted to put the AL East out of doubt, and they turned to Nick Martinez to help get that done against Carlos Rodon. Aaron Judge was not in the mix, as he will miss the rest of the regular season and remains a question mark for the Wild Card series.
For most of the game, it looked like the kind of tight, low-scoring fight that can hinge on one mistake. The first three innings were all zeros for both sides, and Martinez and Rodon settled into a clean early rhythm.
Chandler Simpson picked up the game’s first hit in the second, but Jonny DeLuca grounded into a double play to erase it. Victor Mesa Jr. saw plenty of fly balls from Martinez in the bottom half, but the Yankees still never reached base.
That quiet stretch didn’t last.
Ben Rice opened the bottom of the fourth with a double, Cody Bellinger followed with a homer, and just like that the Yankees had the only lead they would need. New York kept pressing from there.
George Lombard Jr. singled with two outs, Spencer Jones singled him to third, then Jones stole second to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Anthony Volpe struck out to end the inning before anything else could come across.
The Rays kept coming up empty. Jose Caballero did reach in the fifth with a one-out single and then stole second, and Ben Rice walked to put pressure on Martinez again, but the right-hander worked out of it. Martinez’s day ended after six innings, and the line was solid outside that one damaging frame: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR on 94 pitches.
Tampa Bay had a couple more chances to start something and never found the break they needed. Victor Mesa Jr. led off the sixth with a single, but a strikeout and a Richie Palacios double play shut that down.
Jonathan Aranda singled with one out in the seventh, only to be stranded. The Rays also went down in order in the eighth and again in the ninth, never seriously threatening to climb back in.
Ty Johnson took over for Martinez and got through the seventh in order. The Yankees also went quietly in the eighth. Carlos Rodon was finished after eight strong innings, and David Bednar handled the ninth for New York.
In the end, the Rays’ bats never woke up, and the Yankees took game one 2-0.
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