2 weeks Ago
TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees have been waiting for their new closer to dominate like he did for years in Milwaukee. Opening Day was bad for Devin Williams, who was very shaky picking up a save against his old club.
His game in Detroit on April 9, three runs over two-thirds of an inning, was brutal. The last week has been a lot better, four scoreless innings and three save in four appearances. Then came Saturday.
This was a meltdown. The Yankees were handedly ahead 8-4 when Williams entered to pitch the ninth. After one out, five Rays reach in a row, the last a game-tying, two-run single by Brandon Lowe.
Thanks to third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera starting a sweet inning-ending double, the Yankees escaped to extra innings. From there, the Rays won 10-8 in 10 innings on a leadoff two-run homer by Jonathan Aranda off Yankees reliever Yoendrys Gomes. The walk-off homer was to right field on a 1-1, 94-mph fastball that was at the knees and inside.
Earlier, Aranda and catcher Ben Rortvedt allowed Anthony Volpe’s first-inning foul popup to drop between them. Four innings later, they had a violent collision near home plate chasing Grisham’s foul pop. With both calling for the ball, which was wind-blown from near first base to near the plate, Rortvedt’s left arm smacked into Aranda’s neck while he made a catch.
Aranda, who is among the AL leaders with a .367 average, was shook up for a couple minutes but remained in the game and became the Rays’ hero. WORLD SERIES ODDS: Yankees, Mets jostle to take down Dodgers The Yankees got a scare in the fourth inning when hot-hitting Ben Rice injured his left elbow on a hit by pitch.
By the time the second-year designated hitter’s next turn to hit came up, he was at a Tampa hospital getting X-rays and. CT scan while Pablo Reyes was inserted as a pinch-hitter. Fortunately for Rice and the Yankees, all of the testing came back negative of a fracture.
The Yankees led 6-1 after scoring three in the fourth while chasing Rays starter Shane Baz, but the game got tight again in the bottom of the inning when Tampa scored three more on Carlos Carrasco. With the Yankees leading 6-4, Carrasco departed in the fifth after Yandy Diaz hit a leadoff double, then manager Aaron Boone’s hot bullpen worked five shutout innings to put the Rays away. Ian Hamilton followed Carrasco and worked two hitless innings, then Mark Leiter Jr.
and Luke Weaver and Devin Williams took turns pitching scoreless frames before Williams entered. NOTABLE -- Aaron Judge had a big day raising his average to .397 going 3-for-4 with a two-run single in the fourth and RBI hit in the ninth.
-- Judge has been on base 17 games in a row and in 20 of his first 21 this season. -- Judge stole his first base of the season after his ninth-inning hit, then had it overturned into a caught stealing after the Rays asked for a replay challenge. -- Catcher Austin Wells was 1-for-3 with an infield single, walk and sacrifice fly after being rested on Friday and missing Saturday’s game due to food poisoning.
-- In his second at-bat of the day and eighth of the season, Reyes picked up his first hit as a Yankee with a ninth-inning single. The utility infielder/outfielder promptly stole second base and scored on a Paul Goldschmidt single. LOOKING AHEAD Sunday: Yankees at Rays, 1:40 p.
m., YES. LHP Max Fried (3-0, 1.
88) vs. RHP Ryan Pepiot (1-2, 4.91).
Monday: Yankees at Guardians, 6:10 p.m., YES.
RHP Clarke Schmidt (0-0, 4.76) vs. RHP Gavin Williams (1-1, 5.
58). Tuesday: Yankees at Guardians, 6:10 p.m.
, YES. RHP Will Warren (1-0, 5.17) vs.
RHP Tanner Bibee (1-2, 5.85). Wednesday: Yankees at Guardians, 1:10 p.
m., YES. LHP Carlos Rodon (2-3, 4.
34) vs. RHP Luis L. Ortiz (2-2, 5.
48). Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected] ..
