Rays 7, Yankees 5
Baseballs were flying out of Petco Park in San Diego during Game One of the ALDS. On Tuesday, that trend continued for the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. Yet despite a two-home run game from Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees could not get a lot going. One night after every Yankee starter recorded a hit, the Rays shut their offense down.
After the 7-5 victory, the Rays have tied the series up at one win each.
Rays Dominant Pitching
The Yankees had few answers for the Rays pitching Tuesday. Tyler Glasnow looked to be in vintage form. His fastball-curveball combination fooled the Yankees bats all night long. With ten strikeouts, he set the Rays franchise record for a postseason game. Aside from a stretch in the fourth inning where he lost his control, he quieted the Yankees bats, allowing only seven balls put in play out of 20 batters faced.
The Rays bullpen fared much better in Game Two as the Rays deployed their best relief arms. After Aaron Hicks, led off the sixth inning with a walk, Kevin Cash pulled Glasnow in favor of Diego Castillo. In his first inning of work, Castillo made the Yankees look bad at the plate with two strikeouts while setting them down in order.
In arguably the biggest spot of the game, Nick Anderson came into the game and struck out the Yankees in order to strand runners on first and second.
The pitching strategy did not fare as well for the Yankees. Aaron Boone started rookie Deivi Garcia. However, Garcia, now the youngest Yankee to tart a postseason game, was a decoy. He pitched one inning, allowing one home run before being removed for J.A. Happ in the second inning. Happ failed to give the Yankees the length necessary to make this move work, and he was removed after 2 2/3 innings having allowed four earned runs. While the move did not work out Tuesday night, Boone hopes it will allow Garcia to pitch again in the series.
“That was the plan all along,” Boone said. “We were going to go short with him, knowing we would have Deivi available later in the series if need be.”
Home Runs Flying Out of Petco Park
The Yankees struck out 18 times, a franchise record in a postseason game. Stanton’s two home runs were the bright spot for their offense. The first was a low line drive down the right field line while the second was a gargantuan shot that traveled 458 feet at 118 mph. Stanton hit three balls over 110 mph. He has hit five home runs in four postseason games.
Aside from Stanton, the only Yankee to reach base more than once was Hicks, who walked twice and singled. The Yankees threatened in the bottom of the ninth, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate, but they only scored one run out of that opportunity.
As for the Rays, they hit four home runs, accounting for six of their seven runs. Randy Arozarena, accounting for one of those home runs, continues to impress in the postseason. He collected two more hits, and he now has eight in his last three games. Austin Meadows hit the final home run of the night for the Rays, the first of his career in the postseason.
“We needed a win today, we had to find a way to win today and we did,” Cash said.
Despite six combined home runs, it was pitching that won the game for the Rays. Four runs is by far the lowest offensive output by the Yankees in the postseason, who had scored 31 runs in three games.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
