New York Yankees 2 – Texas Rangers 3
In the rubber match, a pair of lefties went head-to-head in Texas.
After striking out in order to start the game, the Yankees managed to take advantage of Martin Perez. Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez led off the second inning with a pair of walks. Brian McCann grounded into a double play but Starlin Castro saved the inning with a run-scoring single to bring home Teixeira and give the Yankees an early 1-0 lead.
CC Sabathia got through a scoreless first inning but Ryan Rua and Rougned Odor opened the second inning with a pair of singles. The first ground out froze the runners in scoring position but a ground ball back to Sabathia initially held the runners. But a soft throw to first for the force out gave Rua the opportunity to make a dash for home. After safely coming home to tie the game, Odor was thrown out at third for the third of the inning but the game was tied.
In the bottom of the third inning, catcher Bryan Holaday led off with a walk and he advanced on a sacrifice. After striking out Nomar Mazara, Adrian Beltre broke the tie with a run-scoring single. After another single and a walk, Sabathia got the final out of the inning on a ground out to minimize the damage to one.
The one-run deficit was erased after two outs when Alex Rodriguez got a hold of the Martin Perez pitch and put it in the left-center seats for his third home run of the season and it tied the game at 2.
Brian McCann and Starlin Castro followed with a pair of singles but the two-out rally was put out with a ground out by Chase Headley.
The Yankees had one more prime scoring opportunity in the sixth inning. Carlos Belran led off with a single but a double play doused the rally. Alex Rodriguez hit a double but a pop out by Brian McCann let the Yankees come up empty with a runner in scoring position, a common occurrence for the Yankees this year.
After the two-out walk in the third inning, CC Sabathia retired nine straight before a two-out walk of Rougned Odor. Elvis Andrus hit a line drive into right field that sped its way by Carlos Beltran. When the ball made its way back to the infield, Andrus reached third base with a tie-breaking triple to put the Rangers ahead by one.
In six innings, CC Sabathia allowed three runs on five hits while walking three and striking out five. Not a great outing but the big lefty certainly kept the Yankees in the game.
Relievers Johnny Barbato and Chasen Shreve kept the Rangers off the scoreboard in their two innings of work but the Yankees could not make up the one-run deficit in tonight’s loss.
Win – Martin Perez (1-2)
Loss – CC Sabathia (1-2)
Save – Shawn Tolleson (7)
Notables
Yankees
*Alex Rodriguez – 3 for 3, R, 2B, Solo home run (3) in the 4th, RBI (7)
*Starlin Castro – 2 for 4, RBI (12)
Rangers
*Elvis Andrus – 1 for 3, 3B, RBI (13)
*Adrian Beltre – 1 for 4, RBI (13)
Current Yankees Record: 8-12
