Rays' Bats Explode in 7-5 Series-Clinching Win over Yankees on Sunday
Even though it got a little hairy late, the Tampa Bay Rays had one of their best days of the season on Sunday. They laced out a season-high16 hits and rolled to a 7-5 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, taking the series with their second straight victory.
The Rays are now 16-18 on the season and are 7-1 in their last eight road games. They pulled to within three games of the Yankees (19-15) in the American League East race. It was their third straight road series win, and it was the first time ever that they've won consecutive road series against first-place teams. They swept San Diego last weekend,
Tampa Bay had five different players with multiple hits, including light-hitting Taylor Walls, who had four hits despite entering the game with a .151 batting average. He went 4-for-5 and left with a .192 ,mark. Since April 17, he was just 2-for-25.
Jonathan Aranda had a big day as well. He was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including a solo home run in the third inning and a two-run single in the seventh. Yandy Diaz and newcomer Travis Jankowski each had three hits and Chandler Simpson had two.
The Rays had a 5-0 lead at one point, and Taj Bradley (3-2) was cruising through the first five scoreless innings. He only allowed two hits in the first five, and they were erased when he got Aaron Judge to ground into a double play.
He got into some trouble in the sixth, though. Trent Grisham opened the inning with a single and after a Judge ground out, Cody Bellinger hit a two-run homer to right field, the 200th of his career. When Bradley then walked Paul Goldschmidt, manager Kevin Cash made a change, bringing in Mason Montgomery. He got a double-play ball from Jasson Dominguez to end the threat.
Tampa Bay got the runs back right away on Aranda's single to make it 7-2, but then the Yankees made more noise in the eighth inning. Judge opened the inning with a double off of Mason Englert, and then he walked Bellinger. Goldschmidt singled, scoring Judge, and then three batters later, Jorbit Vivas had a two-run single to center, making it 7-5. Edwin Uceta ended the rally when he coaxed a ground out from Oswald Peraza.
Pete Fairbanks pitched a perfect ninth to lock down the win, his eighth save of the season. He struck out Grishman, Judge and Bellinger on 15 pitches.
New York lost for the third time in four games, and looked bad doing it. Peraza, filling in for Anthony Volpe at shortstop, had an error, as did catcher J.C. Escarra. Domiguez also misplayed a ball at the wall hit by Walls that he should have caught, but it was ruled a double. Will Warren (1-3) took the loss.
The Rays are off on Monday, and then start a six-game homestand at Steinbrenner Field on Tuesday night. They'll play three games against the Philadelphia Phillies, and then three more against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Yankees host San Diego for three starting on Monday night,
The Rays are a league best 11-4 in interleague games this season and have won all five series versus National League teams.
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- TOM BREW COLUMN: The Tampa Bay Rays have struggled mightily against American League teams this season, going just 4-14 so far. That's why Saturday's win over the New York Yankees was so big, because it counts as double when you're chasing the division leader. Same rules apply on Sunday. CLICK HERE
- MEAD'S HIT SPURS RAYS WIN (Sat.): The Tampa Bay Rays offense has been brutal this week, but they scored twice in the eighth inning on Saturday to pull out a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees. Curtis Mead was the hero, with a game-tying single. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is the publisher of ''Tampa Bay Rays on SI'' and has been with the Sports Illustrated platform since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He owns eight sites on the "On SI'' network and has written four books.