Rays Get Big Hit Late From Curtis Mead, Beat Yankees 3-2 on Saturday

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.

Tampa Bay's Curtis Mead had a big eighth inning hit on Saturday against the New York Yankees. The Rays won, 3-2, snapping a four-game losing streak. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Tampa Bay's bats have been quiet all week during a four-game losing streak, but they did just enough to rally late to beat the New York Yankees 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

And they did it with an unlikely hero — light-hitting Curtis Mead.

Mead, who was hitting just .150 entering the game, got the start at first base with left-hander Ryan Yarbrough starting for New York. (Every-day first baseman Jonathan Aranda is hitting .112 against lefties.) Mead had a sixth-inning single, but then got the biggest hit of the day in the eighth inning when the Rays erased a 2-1 deficit.

The Rays, who had only scored three runs in the past four games, started the late rally when Christopher Morel reached on an infield single. Chandler Simpson pinch-ran for him, and promptly stole second. Brandon Lowe walked, and then the Rays pulled off a double steal, putting runners on second and third with none out. The Rays stole six bases on the day,

Junior Caminero struck out, but then Mead battled reliever Mark Leiter Jr., in an eight-pitch at-bat, finally getting a soft liner into shallow left field that scored Simpson to make it 2-2. Lowe had to hold up at third.

The Yankees should have been out of the inning when Jose Caballero hit a ground ball toward second base, but Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe booted the sure double-play ball and everyone was safe. Lowe scored, and the Rays took a 3-2 lead.

The bullpen took it from there for the Rays, but not without a scare in the eighth. Garrett Cleavinger gave up a leadoff single to Trent Grisham, and then a two-out hit to Cody Bellinger.

Aaron Judge — who already had two hits for the second straight game, including a first-inning home run — was next, so Rays manager Kevin Cash called for right-hander Edwin Uceta. On his second pitch, a changeup, he coaxed a ground ball to short from Judge, ending the threat.

Pete Fairbanks pitched a perfect ninth for the Rays, picking up his seventh save of the season in seven tries.

Zach Littell, who's gotten very little run support for several years now, looked like he was going to be a hard-luck loser again. He had pitched great, going seven innings and allowing just two runs, the Judge homer in the first and an Austin Wells homer in the fifth inning. He allowed just three hits and didn't have any walks, covering those seven frames in just 81 pitches.

When he finished his seventh inning, he watched the Rays rally in the eighth, which game him the win. He's 2-5 on the year now, and has won two straight.

The two teams will meet again on Sunday, with the game's first pitch set for 1:35 p.m. ET. Taj Bradley (2-2, 4.58 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for Tampa Bay, with Will Warren (1-1, 5.63 ERA) set to go for the Yankees.