Rays make it interesting in the 9th, but Yankees hang on
After the Rays won the series opener against the Bronx Bombers, the Rays will try to make back-to-back wins on the road for the first time since June 26th. The Rays are sending Joe Boyle to the mound, who has been lights out. His fastball, splinker, and slider combo is a must-watch, and facing a power-heavy lineup like the Yankees makes it a very exciting matchup. On the other side of the mound, the Yankees are starting left-handed standout Max Fried, who has been one of the best pitchers in the American League so far.
The Rays started out the game perfectly as De Luca hit a two-out RBI triple to right-center to give them an early lead in the top of the first. This was the first run the Rays had scored on Max Fried in 15 innings this season. The Rays led 2–0 after one.
Two innings later Jonathan Aranda hit a lefty-on-lefty bomb to right-center to put the Rays up front 3-0. However, the party didn’t last long as Cody Bellinger hit an absolute missile to the short porch, and jus like that, the Yankees came back and erased the deficit.
The disaster didn’t end in the bottom of the third, as the Yankees put up a rally with a little help from the Rays’ defense, which basically put the game away, as the Yanks were able to grab three runs. Joe Boyle couldn’t get out of the third inning. He looked dominant through the first seven outs, allowing only three walks and one hit. However, in the next two outs, he allowed three more hits.
There was not much going on the middle part of the game, as Max Fried settled in, and the Rays were only able to get a couple of base runners after the first three innings.
In the 9th inning, the Rays made a little bit of a run as Josh Lowe tripled and later scored. After a Volpe errant throw, the Rays had the tying run on second base; however Jonathan Aranda struck out on a high heater, and Devin Williams closed the door just in time. Yankees took the second game of the series and beat the Rays 7-5.
The Yankees evened up the series at 1–1, and tomorrow, Zack Littell might make his final start as a Ray with the trade deadline coming up on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM ET at Yankee Stadium.