A night after hitting two big homers in a victory, red-hot rookie catcher Gary Sanchez went 0-for-2 with two walks.
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Rookie Gary Sanchez hit two more homers and drove in five runs, Masahiro Tanaka won despite allowing four home runs in the third inning and NY beat Tampa Bay.
“It’s unfortunate you give up two runs and you don’t win a game, but we have to start over tomorrow”, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
This is probably the most exciting performance I have ever seen by a Yankees player.
Luis Cessa (4-3, 4.30) pitched well, allowing two runs and six hits in six innings.
“Normally you go on the road against a really good team and you win two out of (three), I don’t want to say you’re happy, but you can live with that”, Brett Gardner said.
After hitting home run number 19, Sanchez is averaging one home run per 8.7 at-bats.
Cano then followed with a run-scoring fly to left, quieting the decidedly pro-Blue Jays crowd, bolstered for the third straight game by thousands of fans from western Canada.
Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe, left, high fives left fielder Corey Dickerson after the Rays defeated the New York Yankees 2-0 during a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, in St. Petersburg, Fla.
If, however, Tanaka isn’t able to return to the hill, it’ll only add another layer of uncertainty to the Yankees’ rotation picture heading into an offseason where starting pitching will nearly certainly be a focus for general manager Brian Cashman and his staff. “The sharpness of the ball wasn’t there tonight”.
“No concerns with the elbow”, Cobb said.
Tanaka joined Zack Greinke, Collin McHugh and Justin Verlander as the only pitchers to give up four homers in an inning this season. “I’m very thankful that I’m healthy. There’s no physical questions”. Miller later hit another solo shot to give him 30 homers this season. The Rays are set to place OF Steven Souza Jr.
There’s an urgency to each loss for the Yankees, whose diminishing wild-card hopes fade with each missed opportunity, like a 2-0 loss Thursday night to the last-place Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Tanaka threw two wild pitches with Jaff Decker batting in the second, including one that became lodged under the pad on the wall behind the plate.
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And that made it all the more easier for the Rays – behind five scoreless frames from starting pitcher Blake Snell and a lights-out bullpen effort featuring ex-Yankee Chase Whitely (2 2/3 innings) – to drop the Yankees, who couldn’t afford to take on any more water.
