Dropping 2 Of 3 To a Division Rival Is Bad: New York Yankees Did Just That

Dropping this game would be a real problem for the New York Yankees. However, with wear on the pitching staff, Will Warren, and a weak Sunday lineup, conspired to make the Yankees lose this game 7-5. The injury to Anthony Volpe meant the Yankees had to start a weak lineup in this game. There was a good chance of the Yankees dropping this game before it even started.

Lineups

The Tampa Bay Rays had Chandler Simpson as the center fielder and batting leadoff. Brandon Lowe was the second baseman and batted second. Yandy Diaz batted third and was the designated hitter. Jonathan Aranda was the first baseman and batted fourth. José Caballero pinch-hit for him and played third base. Curtis Mead moved to first base. Kameron Misner was the right fielder and was batting fifth. Curtis Mead was the third baseman and batted sixth. Travis Jankowski was the left fielder and batted seventh. Ben Rortvedt was the catcher and batted eighth. Tyler Walls was the shortstop and batted ninth. 

For the Yankees, Trent Grisham batted first and was the center fielder. Aaron Judge batted second and was the designated hitter. Cody Bellinger was the right fielder and batted third. Paul Goldschmidt was the first baseman and batted fourth. Jasson Dominguez was the left fielder and batted fifth. JC Escarra was the catcher, batting sixth.

Pablo Reyes was the second baseman and batted seventh. Oswaldo Cabrera was the third baseman batting eighth. Ben Rice pinch-hit for him in the eighth inning. Austin Wells came in at that spot in the lineup, and Escarra moved to third base. Oswald Peraza was the shortstop, batting ninth. 

Scoring Summary: Dropping Like a Rock

In the second inning, Tampa scored a run and took a 1-0 lead. Simpson, the fastest man in the majors, grounded into a force-out, and Jankowski scored. It was 1-0 Rays. Aranda hit a solo home run in the third inning. It was 2-0 Rays.

In the fourth inning, things took a sharp turn for the worse for the Yankees. First, Lowe hit a bases-loaded single that scored both Jankowski and Walls. That made it 4-0 Rays. Then Diaz singled and Simpson scored. That made it 5-0 Rays. It became very likely the Yankees would be dropping this game.

In the sixth inning, Bellinger hit a two-run home run, and Grisham scored. That cut the Yankees’ deficit to 5-2. In the seventh inning, Aranda singled, scoring Walls and Simpson. That extended the Rays’ lead to 7-2.

In the eighth inning, Goldschmidt singled and Judge scored. He had doubled and has a 14-game hitting streak and a 30-game on-base streak.  The Yankees scored two more runs on Jobit Vivas’ first Major League hit. He singled and scored Goldschmidt and Dominguez. That made it 7-5. That was how the game ended.

Game Notes 

Volpe was out a day after a scare with his shoulder, but his X-ray and MRI results are “good news.” His absence meant the Yankees had to shuffle their lineup and risk dropping this game before it started. The game started late because of a rain delay, and it was going to rain all game. However, the weather was warm, in the upper 60s. The game started at 2:05, so a 30 minute rain delay.

Alfonso Márquez was the home plate umpire and was the crew chief. He slants toward the hitters. New York’s bullpen was greatly taxed. The Yankees needed length from Warren. He has been up and down all season and Yankees’ fans had no idea what to expect.

On Sundays, on the Television broadcast, the Yankees have little leaguers announce the starting lineup. It was May 4th, so the Yankees had all players dressed up as Star Wars characters on the scoreboard, and the giveaway was a Giancarlo Stanton Jedi Bobble Head.

The Tampa Bay Rays stole a base in the second inning. They stole 6 bases yesterday. Carlos Carrasco pitched 3 innings in relief for the Yankees, saving the Yankee bullpen. A small win for the team that was in the process of dropping its second consecutive game to the Rays. Bellinger’s home run in the sixth inning was his 200th career home run.

Conclusion

Dropping this game to a division foe was like losing twice. This was because not only did the Yankees lose the game, but the Tampa Bay Rays won a game, and they are in the American League East with the Yankees. Next, the Yankees will host a very good San Diego Padres team. They are expected to have a tough time with the Padres and should be careful of dropping all three games in that series. Like dropping 2 of 3 to the Rays.