Tampa Bay Rays 2 — New York Yankees 6
Zoilo Almonte hit his first career home run in tonight’s 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki got the Yankees in good position to score right from the first inning. Gardner led off the game with a bunt single and just like it was drawn up, Ichiro and Gardner would get the hit-and-run to put runners on the corners for Robinson Cano. A sacrifice fly by Cano would bring in the first run of the game.
David Phelps started tonight’s game and would lose his slim one-run lead in the third inning. A single with some productive outs moved the lead off single to third base. Ben Zobrist would single home their first run of the game to tie it at one.
Catcher Austin Romine would take the first pitch from Roberto Hernandez in the bottom of the third inning for a double. Entering tonight, Romine was hitless in his last 11 at-bats. Brett Gardner would move Romine to third on a sacrifice bunt and Ichiro Suzuki would hit a ground ball just in front of the pitcher that would bring in Romine, regaining the lead for the Yankees.
The see-saw affair would continue in the top of the fourth inning. James Loney would hit a ground ball to the left of Robinson Cano that would get by for a single. A wild pitch would move Loney to second base and Luke Scott would hit a run-scoring single, tying the game again.
But, like the third inning, the Yankees would strike back.
Travis Hafner, Lyle Overbay, and Zoilo Almonte would hit consecutive singles to open the bottom half of the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, Jayson Nix would hit into a double play to score a run. But David Adams would succeed where Nix failed and get a run-scoring single to put the Yankees ahead by two.
In the sixth inning, with two hits already under his belt tonight, Zoilo Almonte would hit his first career home run with a shot into the Yankees’ bullpen in right center field. The 24-year-old Dominican left fielder would receive a curtain call in front of the energized Yankees crowd.
Shawn Kelley, not the struggling Joba Chamberlain, got the seventh inning and struck out two. David Robertson pitched the eighth inning and Mariano Rivera would finish the ninth for the win.
David Phelps went 5.2 innings tonight as deep counts elevated his pitch count. He allowed two runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out four. Phelps’ 102 pitches ended his night early and Boone Logan was called on to get the last out of the sixth inning.
Win – David Phelps (5-4)
Loss – Roberto Hernandez (4-8)
Notables
Rays
*Luke Scott – 2 for 4, 2B, RBI (25)
*Ben Zobrist – 2 for 4, RBI (39)
Yankees
*Zoilo Almonte – 3 for 4, R, Solo Home Run (1) in the 6th, RBI (1)
*Lyle Overbay – 2 for 4, R, RBI (33)
Current Yankees Record: 40-33
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