New York Yankees (0-1) 6 — Tampa Bay Rays (1-0) 7
Opening Day of the 2012 season has come and gone and for the Yankees, it will be a tough 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays that included some poor hitting with runners on and a questionable early decision.
CC Sabathia took the mound for the Yankees and did not appear to have his best. In his 6 innings of work, he gave up 8 hits and 5 runs. Two of the 8 hits were home runs. One of the home runs was notably after an intentional walk of shortstop Sean Rodriguez, a player not known for his bat. First baseman Carlos Pena made Sabathia pay for the walk with a grand slam in the 1st inning.
New Yankees designated hitter Raul Ibanez put the Yankees ahead in the 3rd inning with a three-run home run. Ibanez also brought in another run on a ground out to bring his total to 4 runs today.
Mariano Rivera came into close the game after Rafael Soriano’s smooth 7th inning and a Houdini 8th by David Robertson. Rivera gave up a leadoff single to outfielder Desmond Jennings and a game-tying triple to Ben Zobrist. With the game-winning run on 3rd base, Rivera walked the bases loaded and Girardi brought in infielder Eduardo Nunez to become a 5th infielder replacing outfielder Nick Swisher. He proceeded to strike out the next batter but Carlos Pena hit a deep single to left-center and ended the game.
Win – Fernando Rodney (1-0)
Loss – Mariano Rivera (0-1)
Notable
Yankees
*Raul Ibanez – 1 for 5, R, 3-Run Home Run (1) in the 3rd, 4 RBI (4)
*Nick Swisher – 1 for 5, R, RBI (1)
Rays
*Carlos Pena – 3 for 5, R, Walk-off Single, Grand Slam (1) in the 1st, 5 RBI (5)
*Evan Longoria – 3 for 3, 2 R, 2 BB, Solo Home Run (1) in the 3rd, RBI (1)
Current Yankees Record: 0-1
Ryan Nakada
@adakannayr
