About Yesterday: Rays Win 3-1

By Mike Whiteman May 29, 2022

*** The Big Story:

Yankee fans have been holding our collective breaths about DJ LeMahieu’s wrist, especially when we heard that his recent cortisone shot wasn’t particularly effective at first. We exhaled a bit when he was in the lineup yesterday and led off the game with a double. An Aaron Judge single and Anthony Rizzo sacrifice fly put the Yanks on the board first, 1-0. That would be the only run allowed by old friend Corey Kluber in six innings of work.

Yankee starter Gerrit Cole was dealing even more, not allowing his first hit until the fifth inning. He yielded a single run in the sixth, allowing two walks (one on a call by the home plate umpire with 3-2 count that sure looked like a strike) and an RBI single to Randy Arozarena, all with two outs. The game was now tied 1-1. This classic pitcher’s duel of two aces ended when both hurlers left the game in the seventh. The Rays’ pen kept the momentum going, as JP Feyereisen, Jason Adam, and Colin Poche dominated the Yanks, holding them scoreless the rest of the way. The Rays tacked on two runs against Lucas Luetge and Mike King, and that was the ballgame.

Rays win, 3-1.

Quick Stats:

The Yankees are 33-14, the best record in Major League Baseball. They lead the American League East by five and a half games. They are on pace for 114 wins. Their run differential of +73 trails only the Los Angeles Dodgers in all of MLB. Yesterday’s loss snapped the Yanks winning streak of four games.

Happy Birthday to Charlie Hayes, a serviceable third baseman who enjoyed two stints in Pinstripes. We all remember where we were at when this happened… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJe2dNJ3q48

Twenty-five years ago, the Yankees signed Nippon Professional (Japan) Baseball star pitcher Hideki Irabu to a four-year contract after acquiring his rights in a trade with the San Diego Padres. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/i/irabuhi01.shtml The deal was largely panned as he didn’t turn out to be ace he was promised to be, but he was a decent number five starter for the 1998 and 1999 World Series Champions. Irabu’s life story is tragic, as he took his own life in 2011, at age 42. https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/08/01/hideki-irabu

Player of the Game:

The Rays bullpen, allowing only a single the last three innings while the team took and kept the lead. Notable Performances:

Gerrit Cole yielded two hits and struck out ten batters in his six innings. He is second in the AL in innings pitched and strikeouts… ex-Yankee farmhand Feyereisen has yet to allow an earned run for the Rays this year. Better to Forget:

After his blistering start, Mike King has a 5.06 ERA in May, and has allowed runs in his last three outings. My take:

If someone told me coming into this series that the Yanks would split a four game series in Tampa, I’d have been pleased, especially with the toll recent injuries have taken on this team. I’m greedy now. I wanted a sweep. Now I want three of four. Despite the team’s gutsy play since the rash of recent injuries, you could see the effect it has had when Aaron Boone sent Aaron Hicks, batting .185 as a lefthanded hitter, out to pinch hit for Jose Trevino in the eighth inning. Sadly, there really were no better options! The struggles of Hicks, Joey Gallo, and the catching tandem has been able to be tolerated when the stars have been hitting. The recent losses of Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, and Josh Donaldson make their poor hitting stand out a bit more, and it looks likely that Brian Cashman is going to have to seek an upgrade at least in the outfield – I’m not sure I’m messing with the catching even with their anemic offense – this summer. I suspect that Gallo will be dealt, and the Yanks best trading partner will be a team looking for corner outfield help for this year (Gallo can be a free agent at the end of the season) and has a flawed player to deal with centerfield experience – perhaps Atlanta for Adam Duvall of Atlanta? Sounds like the classic “change of scenery” deal. They said it:

“It was a strike” – Gerrit Cole on the two out, 3-2 pitch to Ji Man Choi which was called a ball. Cole allowed another walk and a single that inning and the Rays got on the scoreboard.

Next Up: Sunday afternoon baseball starting at 1:40. Another great pitching matchup, as Luis Severino (3-0, 3.02) toes the rubber against Rays ace lefty Shane McClanahan (4-2, 2.06).

Go for the series win!