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Series Recap
·4 min read

Series Recap: Yankees swish three on Rays

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Winning three-of-four, the New York Yankees took care of business against the Durham Bulls Tampa Bay Rays. Yankees pitchers were pounding the strike zone and the lineup came up with timely knocks. Yes, one would like to sweep a team like the Rays but at the risk of being cliche, like with a doubleheader, it’s tough to sweep a four-game series. Hence, throwing in another cliche, the Yankees did their job, beating a team they should at home.

GAME 1

A pair of rookies helped the pinstripes to a 4-3 victory. Gleyber Torres and Domingo German headlined the grind it out win.

MISSING BATS

German turned in a solid outing, earning his first big league victory. On his ledger, German fanned a career-high 10 K’s, collecting 13 swinging strikes. While he was bumpy early, yielding a solo home run to Matt Duffy in the first frame and giving up an RBI-single to Wilson Ramos, while getting some defensive help with a putout at home on a throw by Giancarlo Stanton in the second, German settled in and pitched to the scoreboard. German went six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a pair of walks.

BATS GO TO WORK

The Bronx Bombers were able to wear down Blake Snell, causing him to throw more than 100 pitches into the fifth. During that fifth, Aaron Hicks jump-started the offense, hammering a first-pitch changeup to right, cutting the Rays advantage to 2-1. It was Hicks’ seventh home run on the campaign.

Later in the frame, Torres hammered a full count four-seam fastball from Snell into the left-field stands. The three-run bomb was No. 13 on the season for Torres and staked the Yankees to a 4-2 lead.

BULLPEN TOPS IT OFF

The New York bullpen continued to dominate. Chad Green, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman combined for three scoreless innings and five K’s.

GAME 2

During the second game, the Yankees marched out a rookie starter whose outing drew comparisons to a young Mariano Rivera. Jonathan Loaisiga did more than anyone could’ve asked in the Yankees 5-0 victory.

THE LO-DOWN

The rookie from Nicaragua was turning heads and turning back Rays hitters. In his five frames, Loaisiga fanned six, allowing three hits and four walks without yielding a run. Loaisiga joined Sam Militello (1992) as the only Yankees pitchers to register five scoreless innings in their debut since 1943.

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DIDI GOES DEEP DEEP

It almost feels like last season when Didi Gregorius missed a month with an injury, came back and didn’t miss a beat. Returning to the Stadium, Gregorius has found his groove. During the third, the Yankees shortstop took former teammate Nathan Eovaldi deep to right on a first-pitch curveball, providing the Bronx Bombers a 1-0 lead. It was all part of a three-hit evening for Gregorius.

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SANCHIE SHOWS LIFE

Gary Sanchez’s bat looked rejuvenated and in the eighth inning, the Yankee catcher provided some insurance runs with a bases-clearing, three-run double to right off Johnny Venters.

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 GAME 3

On Saturday the Yankees had everything rolling, timely hitting, power hitting and power pitching, wearing out the “bullpening” Rays in a 4-1 victory.

#GLEYBERGREAT

In the second stanza, Torres ripped a rope RBI-double off the glove of Duffy past third, off Ryan Yarbrough, plating Greg Bird for the 1-0 advantage.

BACK TO BACK AND A BELLY TO BELLY

After a Gregorius RBI-single to left made it 2-0 in the third, the Bronx Bombers teed off in the fifth.

Giancarlo Stanton smashed a 2-2 changeup to left off Yarbrough for home run No. 16.

Sanchez, the ensuing batter, who also had a dynamite day defensively, clobbered a 1-2 fastball from Yarbrough to dead center, making it 4-0.

JUDGE HAMMERS

Aaron Judge continued to scald the ball with another multi-hit performance. Judge crushed a double and went 2-for-4 on the afternoon.

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SEVY SIZZLES

Luis Severino pitched out of a couple of early jams but was essentially lights out. New York’s ace chucked eight innings, fanning nine, yielding three hits and two walks. Six of his nine K’s were clocked at 99 mph or above.

GAME 4

On Old Timer’s Day at the big ballpark in the Bronx, the Bombers’ best bombs came off the bats of Hicks and Nick Swisher. The latter played in the Old Timer’s Day game. As the Rays used their bullpen again, the Yankees bats came up dry in a 3-1 defeat.

FATHER TIME, FATHER’S DAY

It was Father’s Day as well and CC Sabathia did his best to beat back Father Time. Sabathia’s outing included 7.2 frames with 10 K’s, 10 hits, one walk and three runs allowed. The veteran southpaw reached the double-digit strikeout plateau for the 38th time in his illustrious career, recording 2,900 career strikeouts in the process.

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Yet, the second inning proved enough offense for Tampa. A Carlos Gomez RBI-double to left and a two-run single to right by Duffy, gave the Rays a 3-0 advantage.

HICKS TO THE STICKS

As mentioned above, Hicks provided the New York offense, drilling home run No. 8 off Wilmer Font to right in the fifth inning.

ON DECK

At 46-21, the Yankees travel to Washington and will finish off their May series against the Nationals.

Pitching probables, as of this writing no “starter” has been announced for the suspended game. The nightcap will feature Sonny Gray vs. Erick Fedde.