Rays 4, Yankees 8: Lots of homers

With a double header on the docket today, the Rays sent Tyler Glasnow to the mound to oppose Gerrit Cole and the Yankees.

With 14 innings to cover on the day, Glasnow started the day on the right foot. He retired the first three Yankees in order on just eight pitches. His counterpart Gerrit Cole let up a lead off single to Yandy Diaz in the first inning but fanned the next three to get through his first inning.

The second inning would not go as smoothly for Glasnow. Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres reached on singles to start the inning. While Glasnow was able to to get Tauchman to strikeout on a high fastball, he loaded the bases on a walk to Gio Urshela. Glasnow found a way out of the jam with a little help from Gary Sanchez, who chased a 3-2 fastball way out of the zone. Brett Gardner struck out on a curveball to end the inning and keep the game scoreless. A Willy Adames two out double got the Rays a baserunner in the bottom half of the second inning but the Rays would not score.

Unfortunately for the Rays, the top of the third inning would be where the Yankees pulled ahead. With one out, first baseman Mike Ford hit a long two-run home run to right center field. Glasnow followed that up with back-to-back walks. He was able to drop a nice curveball on Mike Tacuhman for a strikeout, but with two outs Urshela was able to hit a hanging curveball to left center field for a two-run double. That mistake signaled the end of the line for Glasnow, prompting Kevin Cash to bring in lefty Sean Gilmartin for his team debut. Gilmartin go Gary Sanchez to fly out to end the frame.

While Glasnow came out of the gates well in this start, it continued a worrying trend of inconsistent command and running deep counts. His last start against the Baltimore Orioles saw him walk three batters and battle through 4 ⅔ innings at 88 pitches. Today was a similar story, with Glasnow again walking three batters and needing 71 pitches to get through 2 ⅔ innings. Hopefully Glasnow can clean up some of these issues quickly, the Rays will need him pitching well if they’re going to accomplish what they planned on doing this season,

On the offensive side, the Rays picked up a single base runner in the 3rd and 4th inning but failed to put a run on the board.

In the top of the 5th inning Stanton touched up Gilmartin for a solo home run, increasing the Yankees’ lead to 5-0. In the bottom half of the inning the Rays bats would show some life, however. Zunino reached on a double with one out in the inning, and Ji-Man Choi brought him home with a two out double. Jose Martinez would then crush a two-run home run to left center field to bring the Rays within two and forcing Gerrit Cole out of the game with two outs in the 5th inning. Chad Green struck out Yoshi Tsutsugo to close the inning.

Cash let Gilmartin come back out for the sixth inning in a two run game, and it did not go well. Aaron Judge took Gilmartin deep to left center field on a two-run home run, pushing the Rays deficit up to four runs.

In the sixth inning the Rays were able to put some pressure on Chad Green, drawing two walks. With one out, Green tossed a wild pitch allowing the baserunners to advance to second and third. Kiermaier pulled a groundball to second base to bring home a run and make the score 7-4. Austin Meadows pinch-hit for Mike Zunino representing the tying run, but Green was able to retire him on a great catch from Urshela in foul territory.

The Yankees added another run on an Urshela sacrifice fly in the seventh inning off of Oliver Drake. In the bottom half of the inning Adam Ottavino got the Rays in order, mixing in two strikeouts to secure the Rays’ 8-4 defeat.

The loss drops the Rays to 6-8 in the early part of the season. The Rays and Yankees each plan to deploy bullpen games for the second half of this double header.