Yankees Beat Rays 2-0, Forestall Rays Celebration in First Game of Doubleheader

The Yankees beat the Rays in the first game of the doubleheader, 2-0. Carlos Rodon started the game for the Bombers. He has not allowed more than three runs in any start this season. The magic number for the Rays coming into this game was two. That means if they win any game in this series, they will clinch the American League East and celebrate at Yankee Stadium.

The Rays have played better than expectations all season. They weren’t picked to win the division, and despite winning almost every game, their run differential coming into this series was only +83. The Yankees are at +137. Someone else who has exceeded expectations this year is Carlos Rodon. News broke today that Aaron Judge is likely to miss the Wild Card Series. Do you think the pitching will be good enough to carry the team in the postseason?

Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays Game Summary September 22, Game One

Carlos Rodon has been very good this season, and the Yankees were hoping to leverage his start. They were trying to prevent the Rays from clinching the Division at Yankee Stadium. Here is how the game played out.

In the fourth inning, Cody Bellinger hit a two-run home run, and Ben Rice scored as well. The score was 2-0. So much for the no-hitter for Rays pitcher Nick Martinez. The Yankees jumped out to a lead. That was the final score of the game.

Aaron Judge Likely to Miss Wild Card Series

The Yankees got more bad news today on Aaron Judge. He had a platelet-poor injection in his ailing calf muscle. The team and he hope that injection will expedite the healing process. He is eligible to come off the Injured list for the last game of the regular season. However, barring some sort of miracle, he will miss the Wild Card series against the Red Sox.

The team has been without him for most of the season. He missed 99 days with his rib injury. The team has been led by its pitching all season. They have had to be; Judge is worth about a run a game to the team. The question is whether their pitching will be good enough to make them successful in the playoffs.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Yankees won this game 2-0. Carlos Rodon, the starting pitcher for them, was the player of the game. He sliced and diced a difficult Rays lineup. Rodon pitched eight strong innings and allowed no runs. He struck out eight and walked nobody. He gave up three hits. He won his 100th game and got his 1500th career strikeout.

This was the first game of a doubleheader between these two teams today. It was also the first game of a four-game series between them. These two teams play again tonight at 7:05. Today’s game was the makeup of a rainout from earlier in the season. This series has been circled for the Yankees as a big series for most of the season. However, the Rays now have a fairly insurmountable five-game lead over the Bombers.

Conclusion

This is still an interesting series, even though the Rays now have a 6-game divisional lead. The Yankees have lined up their four best starting pitchers to pitch this series. There is an argument to be made that, with the division pretty much out of reach, the Bombers should rest their best starting pitchers and not give the Rays an extra look at these pitchers. The counterargument is that the division is not clinched, and this is an opportunity for the Bombers to assert their dominance over the Rays, a potential Division Series opponent.