Tampa Bay Rays 4 — New York Yankees 6
Eduardo Nunez got the offense going behind Kuroda in today’s 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Hiroki Kuroda took the mound and was dominant in his 6 innings of work. His first 6 outs were by strikeouts. He had a great slider that was practically untouchable. Once he received run support, he did surrender his first run on the following inning with a leadoff home run by Ben Zobrist. Kuroda’s final inning of work was a little rough but he managed to get through with the lead. Two walks and a single would load the bases to start the 6th inning. A single to left field by Evan Longoria would bring in 2 runs and a double play would bring in one more but helps Kuroda minimize the damage. He would finish on a strong note with a strikeout on another slider. In 6 innings, Kuroda gave up just 4 runs on 4 hits with 2 walks and an outstanding 10 strikeouts. The bullpen stood strong behind Kuroda, Boone Logan and David Phelps put together a strong 7th inning. David Robertson had a great 8th inning. Rafael Soriano would end the game with a double play and get his 40th save of the season.
The spark of the Yankees lineup came to light at the very bottom of the lineup. Eduardo Nunez walked to leadoff the 3rd inning. After a number of attempts at picking off the speedy shortstop, he would take 2nd base and score on a single by Derek Jeter. Nick Swisher moved Jeter over with a sacrifice bunt and Alex Rodriguez would come through with a single to come through with a runner in scoring position. Robinson Cano would walk and Russell Martin dealt the biggest blow of the game. On a 3-2 fastball, Russell Martin got just enough of it to get it out of the reach of rightfielder Sam Fuld, making it a 5-run 3rd inning. Rays starter Matt Moore was rocked for 3 innings of work as his command and composure were nowhere to be found. He would walk 4 and seemed to be distracted by the presence of baserunners. In the 4th inning, Nunez would spark the offense again. Reliever Brandon Gomes was unable to handle the comebacker by Nunez and he would be taken advantage of. With Jeter batting, Nunez would steal 2nd and 3rd base and would eventually score on a Rodriguez sacrifice fly. The Yankees were able to score on a variety of ways and would go 3 for 8 with runners in scoring position. An overall effective offense was shown today and it could be important if the Yankees intend on claiming the American League East crown.
Win – Hiroki Kuroda (14-10)
Loss – Matt Moore (10-11)
Save – Rafael Soriano (40)
Notables
Rays
*Ben Zobrist – 2 for 3, 2 R, BB, 2B, Solo Home Run (17) in the 4th, RBI (63)
*Evan Longoria – 1 for 4, 2 RBI (43)
Yankees
*Russell Martin – 1 for 4, R, 3-Run Home Run (17) in the 3rd, 3 RBI (47)
*Alex Rodriguez – 1 for 3, R, 2 RBI (55)
Current Yankees Record: 83-63
