The New York Yankees bats did just enough with pitching holding it down to take the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citi Field.
The New York Yankees drew first blood in the top of the second inning. Their four hits and three runs in the inning were more than they could muster up in last night’s defeat.
Starlin Castro broke out of his 0-14 slump with a leadoff single in the top of the second inning. Jacoby Ellsbury followed Castro’s lead with a single of his own to put runners on the corners with no outs.
Todd Frazier continued his timely hitting this series, ripping a single up the middle to score Castro and give the Yankees an early 1-0 lead. A one out walk to Austin Romine loaded the bases for Brett Gardner.
Gardner added to the Yankees lead by punching a single through the left side of the infield, scoring Ellsbury and Frazier, to make the score 3-0.
The Rays would get a run back in the bottom of the third thanks to a solo shot from Kevin Kiermaier. His 13th home run of the season, also his second of the series, flew well into the bullpen in right center field.
Jaime Garcia looked good in his first start since August 31. Garcia went 4.2 innings, allowing only the one run and striking out four.
Chad Green came in to relieve Garcia and, as usual, was dominant. Green struck out three of the four batters he faced, raising his season total to 102 strikeouts on the year.
Aroldis Chapman came in with two outs in the eighth for a four out save. Chapman walked the first batter he faced, then Adeiny Hechavarria singled off a 103 mile-per-hour fastball to make the score 3-2.
Hechavarria continued to give the Yankees trouble this series, going 6-for-10 with a home run and three RBI.
Gardner and Chase Headley led off the top of the ninth with back-to-back singles. Headley’s hit extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games.
The Yankees were unable to capitalize, leaving two runners stranded in scoring position. They were 2-14 today with runners in scoring position. As frustrating as that it, Chapman would hold down the fort in the ninth and pick up the save, improving their record to 79-66.
The Yankees kick off a four game series against the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow night at 7:05 at Yankee Stadium. Masahiro Tanaka gets the ball and will take on Wade Miley.