New York Yankees 5 – Tampa Bay Rays 9
Michael Pineda sought to end his early game woes in Tampa Bay.
After the Yankees were denied from scoring in the first inning against Matt Moore, Pineda took the mound. After hitting Brandon Guyer, Brad Miller followed with a double to put two in scoring position. Evan Longoria scored the first run on a sacrifice fly. After Steve Pearce hit a single, Logan Morrison reached on an infield single, scoring a run. A third run scored on a bloop single to left field by Corey Dickerson and the Yankees were in an early 3-0 hole.
After the Yankees were silence in the second inning, including Hank Conger catching Chase Headley stealing after a replay review confirmed Headley slightly came off the base.
In the second inning, Pineda appeared to have turned the corner getting the first two outs but a fly ball to right field got by a sliding Carlos Beltran for a two-out triple. Where he stood on the bases didn’t matter as Evan Longoria took Pineda deep for a two-run home run to left center.
Michael Pineda did have a clean third inning and Carlos Beltran got the Yankees on the board with a milestone hit. Leading off the fourth inning, Carlos Beltran got to 2,500 hits with a solo home run just inside the foul pole in left field. A two-out, run-scoring single by Longoria in the bottom of the fourth inning ended the dreadful day for Michael Pineda.
In just 3 2/3 innings, Michael Pineda surrendered six runs on nine hits without a walk and three strikeouts.
Nick Goody struggled in his appearance as he exited in the fifth inning with 1/3 of an inning under his belt. Luis Cessa came in and got the first two outs of the inning but Hank Conger added to his highlight day with a three-run home run to right.
Beyond the Beltran home run, the Yankees offense remained silent until the seventh inning. With Matt Moore still in the game, the Yankees rallied from the bottom of the lineup. Chase Headley reached first base when he hit a catwalk. Didi Gregorius walked and Austin Romine went the other way with a run-scoring single. Jacoby Ellsbury loaded the bases with a single and with two outs, Moore was relieved. Enny Romero entered and walked Ronald Torreyes for a run but a strikeout of Alex Rodriguez ended the rally with the Yankees trailing 9-3.
In the eighth inning, the bottom of the order got it going again. Dustin Ackley reached base with a one-out single and Chase Headley followed with a single too. Didi Gregorius and Austin Romine added two more runs with a single each to bring the Yankees within four. Unfortunately Xavier Cedeno cleaned up Romero’s mess with a pair of ground outs.
The Yankees put up a fight in the late innings but ultimately fell short in repairing the mess Michael Pineda left from the start of the game.
Win – Matt Moore (2-3)
Loss – Michael Pineda (2-6)
Notables
Yankees
*Carlos Beltran – 1 for 3, R, Solo home run (12) in the 4th, RBI (31)
*Austin Romine – 3 for 4, 2 RBI (7)
Rays
*Hank Conger – 3 for 4, 2 R, 2 2B, Three-run home run (1) in the 5th, 3 RBI (6)
*Evan Longoria – 2 for 3, R, Two-run home run (9) in the 2nd, 4 RBI (24)
Current Yankees Record: 23-25
