New York Yankees 2 – Tampa Bay Rays 1
In the series finale in Tampa Bay, the Yankees turned to one of the hotter pitchers on the staff in Nathan Eovaldi.
Through the first two innings, Nathan Eovaldi allowed a base runner in each but stranded them both. In the third inning, Brandon Guyer reached on an infield single with one out. Then with two outs and a wild pitch, Guyer was in scoring position. Evan Longoria brought home Guyer on a single to right field.
At the time, it appeared the one run was all Rays starter Jake Odorizzi was going to need. Through the first five innings, Odorizzi retired the first 15 in a row.
With one out in the sixth inning, Dustin Ackley hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop Brad Miller. With a bobble and a throw, Ackley successfully reached on a questionable error. Hometown scoring maybe? Regardless, a double play let Odorizzi continue facing the minimum through six but the perfect game was gone.
In the sixth inning, Steve Pearce and Logan Morrison led off with a pair of singles, putting Eovaldi in early trouble. After a strikeout of Steven Souza Jr., Corey Dickerson popped out for the second out of the inning. Mikie Mahtook walked to load the bases but a pop out of Curt Casali ended the inning.
In six innings, Nathan Eovaldi allowed one run on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.
An exceptional outing was not pitched with the benefit of run support, until the seventh inning.
With one out in the seventh inning, Brett Gardner walked as the second Yankees base runner of the game. Where the first one fell short, this one did not as Starlin Castro ended the no-hitter, shutout and losing effort with one swing. The two-run home run to left center field turned the 1-0 no-hitter into a potential 2-1 win.
With six innings in the books, Dellin Betances came in for the seventh inning. With a strikeout of Guyer, a soft line out of Miller and a strikeout of Evan Longoria, Betances passed the game to the eighth inning. For the eighth, Andrew Miller came on and struck out Pearce, Morrison and Souza. In the ninth inning, Aroldis Chapman came on to close and struck out Corey Dickerson. After a difficult catch in right field by Aaron Hicks, Chapman struck out Casali, ending today’s game in dominant fashion.
Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman faced nine batters and struck out seven of them. This was the first time the Yankees won while only getting one hit since July 10, 1914.
Win – Nathan Eovaldi (6-2)
Loss – Jake Odorizzi (2-3)
Save – Aroldis Chapman (7)
Notables
Yankees
*Starlin Castro – 1 for 3, R, Two-run home run (7) in the 7th, 2 RBI (21)
*Brett Gardner – R, BB
Rays
*Evan Longoria – 1 for 4, RBI (25)
*Brandon Guyer – 2 for 4, R, 2B
Current Yankees Record: 24-25
