Game Recap: Yankees defeat Rays, big 3 go yard

Break those brooms out for the first time this year! Yankees sweep the Rays in a two game mini-series thanks to big performances by Sevvy, Stanton, Judge, and El Gary.

Although we had to sit through yet another rain delay prior to today's ballgame, Yankee fans can agree the wait was certainly worthwhile. In a classic "Just What The Doctor Ordered" game, almost everything went right for the Bronx Bombers, and since this indeed is the postgame recap, we'll cover everything that occurred in this ballgame.

Severino Gives the 'Pen a Breather

In his second start of the season, Luis Severino (2-0) delivered a much-needed lengthy start for the Bronx Bombers, a feat that has not been accomplished by any Yankee starter leading up to this game.

The one mistake he made came in the first inning, when C.J. Cron doubled, allowing Kevin Kiermaier to score which gave the Rays and early 1-0 lead. From then on, it was smooth sailing for the 24-year-old; he received strong run support from his offense as well. The young ace turned in a strong performance: 7.1IP, 7K, 1BB, 5H, 2ER, 92 pitches, 63 strikes. Throwing a nice balance of fastballs and off-speed pitches, Severino certainly exemplified why he is the ace of this staff. Boone allowed Sevvy to pitch into the seventh, stretching his pitch count to 92.

The Big 3 Propel the Team to Victory

Somewhere, Brian Cashman is (probably) twirling his thumbs while letting out an evil laugh.

Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Gary Sanchez all went deep in this game, each serving up two-run homeruns. This is the first time in the young season where all three sluggers homered, and certainly won't be the last.

According to the YES Network, this is the first time the 2-3-4 hitters in a Yankee lineup all hit multi-run homeruns in a single game since July 25, 2000. Derek Jeter, (the other great Yankee shortstop) Paul O'Neill, and Bernie Williams were responsible for this neat stat.

A Stantonian Drive

https://twitter.com/YESNetwork/status/981606414543024129

Stanton, coming off a game in which he struck out five times, was responsible for the first homerun of the trio, hitting a laser to deep left field off of LHP Blake Snell, traveling over 450 feet. This gave the Yanks a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first. Yankee fans in attendance welcomed this with open arms after showering the 2017 NL MVP with boos just one day ago.

According to Statcast, Stanton's homerun was the hardest-hit ball of 2018, clocking in at 117.9 mph. Now that is some serious exit velocity.

Gary is Still Indeed Scary

https://twitter.com/YESNetwork/status/981617903467315200

In the fourth, Gary sent Snell's 3-1 pitch into the left field seats, extending the Yankee lead to 4-1. Not the longest homer by #IAmGary, but still nice to see him get back to his slugging ways early in the season.

All Rise

https://twitter.com/YESNetwork/status/981624815114219521

Following a single by Ronald Torreyes that scored Tyler Austin, which extended the lead to 5-1, Judge hit one of his trademark bombs, soaring deep into the left field seats. This was the final run the Yankees scored, finishing with an impressive seven runs collectively.

Other Notes:

Pitching for the first time since getting hit by a come-backer, Adam Warren pitched 0.2IP, allowing 1 hit while striking out 1 batter. Warren looked healthy in his short outing, a good sign considering the bullpen has been heavily-used in the first five games of the season.

Next Up

Tomorrow vs. Baltimore- Masahiro Tanaka vs. Andrew Cashner 6:35pm EST