Rays 6, Yankees 3: Empty Bronx seats got Lowe’d

Just Monday it was announced that Brandon Lowe was the AL player of the week, and on Tuesday night he showed that he is gunning for the MVP conversation this season.

It was Bumpday in the Bronx, with a head-to-head battle between two pitching greats: Blake Snell and Masahiro Tanaka. While it did not prove to be an ace-off, Snell did outlast his Yankee counterpart tonight, going 5.0 innings, with 4H, 3R, 2BB, 3K, and 2HR on 92 pitches. Tanaka only went 4 innings giving up 6 runs (5 earned) before getting the hook.

The first two innings of the game were all about the pitching, with neither ace budging enough to give an obvious lead. It was in the third inning that the Rays found Tanaka’s cracks and took advantage.

First a Perez single scored Kiermaier, who had reached on a deep triple, letting the Rays draw first blood. Meadows single, putting two on for Brandon Lowe, who did not disappoint coming off his newest accolade. He belted a three-run homer to give the Rays a four run lead.

In the top of the fourth, Willy Adames reached on a single, then Kiermaier doubled, but a passed ball by catcher Sanchez allowed Adames to score as Kiermaier advanced to third.

Gary Sanchez got his revenge in the bottom of the inning, however, as Blake Snell continued to struggle against the Yankees catcher, and Sanchez hit a solo bomb into the empty seats.

An Austin Meadows solo home run in the fifth gave the Rays a 6-1 lead and chased Tanaka from the game. In the bottom of the inning, however, the Yankees returned the favor as a Luke Voit home run scored himself and Estrada, brinign the score to 6-3 and signalling the end of the day for Snell after the final out of the inning.

Fairbanks, Castillo, and Anderson all kept the score in place as Brian and DeWayne gushed about the flexibility of the Rays bullpen. It’s worth noting, however, that Castillo managed to load the bases with a walk, a single, and a hit by pitch, before pitching himself out of a jam.

Chaz Roe came in for the bottom of the ninth to shut things down and give the Rays a win, and with the looming prospect of Roe facing pinch runner Tyler Wade, making it Roe v. Wade, I kid you not Brian Anderson gleefully declared “hasn’t that already been decided?” What a day.

Roe shut down the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth, Rays win 6-3.