Yankees Game 17: Michael Pineda rocked early in series finale
Michael Pineda strikes out nine but surrenders a career-high four home runs in today's series finale with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays 8 – New York Yankees 1
The Yankees looked to complete the sweep of the visiting Tampa Bay Rays today.
After retiring the first two batters, the Tampa Bay bats caught up to Michael Pineda in a hurry. After a deep double by Evan Longoria, Corey Dickerson went deep to right field with a two-run home run. http://bronxpinstripes.com/injuries/breaking-alex-rodriguez-tweaks-oblique/Steve Pearce followed with a single and scored on a double by Brad Miller. Steven Souza Jr. followed with a home run to left field, putting the Yankees in a five-run hole before they even touched a bat.
After the first inning, Pineda found better pitches, striking out five of the next eight batters he faced but also gave up a solo home run in the third inning. He gave up one more run in the fifth inning, via the home run again.
In five innings, Michael Pineda allowed seven runs on 10 hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. Four home runs allowed was a career-high.
The Yankees were silenced by the third lefty starter, Drew Smyly, in the three-game series. In the fourth inning, Brett Gardner played a little soccer with a curveball when it hit him on the top of the helmet to no real harm. Two outs later, Alex Rodriguez came through with a ringing double that hit the top of the wall, inches away from a home run and settled for a double that scored Gardner.
The Yankees were on the board thanks to a bat they desperately wanted to see warm up. Unfortunately, warming up proved to be a casualty of the Yankees' designated hitter.
In the sixth inning, Rodriguez was preparing for his third at-bat and felt a tweak in his oblique and the Yankees took him out instead of letting him continue.
After two scoreless innings from Kirby Yates, reliever Nick Goody gave up a home run to Logan Forsythe in the eighth inning. The Yankees barely put up a fight in the final three innings of today's game. Starlin Castro got his second hit of the game but was erased from the bases on a double play.
The Yankees end their homestand 3-6 and will begin a nine-game road trip in Texas.
Win – Drew Smyly (1-2)
Loss – Michael Pineda (1-2)
Notables
Rays
*Steven Souza Jr. - 2 for 4, 2 R, 2 HR (2; 2-run & solo) in the 1st & 5th, 3 RBI (11)
*Corey Dickerson – 1 for 4, R, BB, Two-run home run (5) in the 1st, 2 RBI (9)
Yankees
*Alex Rodriguez – 1 for 2, 2B, RBI (6)
*Starlin Castro – 2 for 3
Current Yankees Record: 7-10