Tampa Bay Rays 3 — New York Yankees 3
David Phelps got the start against the Tampa Bay Rays. David Phelps limited the Rays and kept them off the scoreboard. An uneventful start by Phelps is a start that Yankees fans can live with. In five innings, David Phelps gave up just three hits without allowing a run and striking out one.
Alfonso Soriano got his first hit of the Spring when he defied the shift and hit an infield single the opposite way. Against Rays starter Chris Archer, the Yankees were held scoreless too.
The game would be scoreless until the seventh inning, when minor league reliever Bruce Billings surrendered a leadoff ground-rule double. Infielder Sean Rodriguez would try to move the runner to third with a sacrifice bunt but Billings would throw the ball away and the Rays would take a one-run lead on the error. Catcher Ryan Hanigan would make it a two-run game before Billings would finally end the inning.
The Yankees would cut the two-run deficit in half after two runners reached base, one being a Kelly Johnson hit by pitch, and second baseman Brian Roberts hit a sacrifice fly to right field. The Rays would get an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning but a throwing error by the catcher in the bottom half would give the run back to the Yankees. A wild pitch in the ninth inning would bring in the tying run and the Yankees would have free baseball.
Out of the bullpen today, Dellin Betances allowed one hit but struck out one without allowing a run. Matt Daley had an impressive inning of work with two strikeouts. Mark Montgomery got the duty of the one extra inning and was very good with one strikeout.
