Still, even if the Yankees take three of four – or miraculously take all four games – their playoff standing might not improve all that much.
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Rays rookie lefthander Blake Snell (6-8) allowed five hits over five innings, holding the Yankees to 0-for-7 with RISP, 0-for-6 in the first three innings.
New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Hicks has a single by Tampa Bay Rays’ Logan Forsythe bounce away from him during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, in St. Petersburg, Fla.
– The Yankees are 3-10 this season in games with the opportunity to complete a series sweep (min. 3G in a series). are 1-8 in their last nine such games (incl. a loss on 9/11 vs. Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium). are 1-3 in sweep opportunities on the road.
“Obviously tonight was a slugfest and we were on the wrong side of it”, Miller said.
Blake Snell and the Rays’ bullpen combined to strand 11 NY runners, preventing a much-needed three-game sweep by the Yankees. Sanchez is playing a leading role in New York’s late-season run as the team climbed within 2 ½ games of Baltimore for the American League’s second wild card by winning the first two contests of the series. NY now sits two and a half games back in the AL Wild Card race, but they’re trailing both Wild Card holders (Baltimore and Toronto) as well as the Tigers, Astros and Mariners in that race.
The Yankees opened the game with back-to-back singles from Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury, but Snell got red-hot rookie Gary Sanchez and Billy Butler on strikeouts, and got Mark Teixeira popped out to first to end the inning. Ex-Yankee Chase Whitley held the Yanks scoreless into the eighth and Alex Colome picked up his 35th save. “I haven’t seen anything like it”. After Tanaka got two consecutive outs, Evan Longoria, Brad Miller and Corey Dickerson hit three consecutive shots. NY will send Luis Cessa to the mound for the finale against fellow rookie Blake Snell, who made his career debut against the Yankees earlier this season.
“Casali (hits) a leadoff double, they’re going to bunt him over, he picks him off”, Girardi said. But at the plate, he was 0-for-2 with two walks.
“When you have a guy that hot, it just sets up everybody else, ” McCann said about Sanchez’s incredible run.
NY rookies, including Sanchez, were given blue Yankees’ one-sie pyjamas to wear for the flight from Florida to Toronto, where a four-game series with the Blue Jays starts Friday night.
They fell to 2-5 on this 11-game trip that continues Friday night in Toronto, the start of a four-game series.
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New York Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka will miss his scheduled start Monday at Toronto because of what manager Joe Girardi called a slight lower right forearm strain.
