Game 55: Nova Dominates

Tampa Bay Rays 1 -- New York Yankees 4

Ivan Nova was dominant in tonight's 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Nova went 8 innings into tonight's game before needing help from the bullpen. After a lead-off single by Desmond Jennings, Nova didn't allow another hit until a double by Sean Rodriguez in the 8th inning. Nova induced a total of 12 ground ball outs in this impressive outing. As he went for the complete game shutout, Desmond Jennings and B.J. Upton hit back-to-back triples to end Nova's bid for a shutout and the complete game as Joe Girardi came to get Nova and the Yankee Stadium crowd gave him a well-deserved ovation. Rafael Soriano came in for the save and had a perfect inning to close out the game for Nova and earn his 8th save of the season.

Rays starter Alex Cobb made tonight's game a pitching duel up until the 8th inning where it appeared he may have ran out of gas. Until Cobb's last inning of work, only the long ball burned him. A 2nd inning home run by Mark Teixeira and a 4th inning home run by American League Home Run Derby captain, Robinson Cano, were the only hits allowed. A single and a pair of doubles in the 8th inning ended Cobb's outing with 4 runs allowed through 7 innings. The Yankees only had 4 opportunities with runners in scoring position and the Yankees took advantage of just 1 of them. I'm sure the Yankees offense is capable of more than this but with the pitching being as dominant as they have been in the previous 3 outings, the powerhouse Yankees offense isn't required, just another aspect of Yankees baseball fans can cheer about.

Win - Ivan Nova (7-2)

Loss - Alex Cobb (2-2)

Save - Rafael Soriano (8)

Notable

Rays

*B.J. Upton - 1 for 4, 3B, RBI (19)

*Desmond Jennings - 2 for 4, R, 3B

Yankees

*Mark Teixeira - 1 for 3, R, Solo Home Run (10) in the 2nd, RBI (33)

*Robinson Cano - 1 for 3, R, Solo Home Run (9) in the 4th, RBI (25)

Current Yankees Record: 31-24

Ryan Nakada