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Art Deco · 05-21-2025, 07:04 PM

Another good series for Tampa Bay as they took 3 of 4 from the visiting Yankees and kept their stranglehold on the AL East intact.

The opener saw maximum drama as Justin Blackwell's 3-run walk-off homer (#5) in the bottom of the 10th gave the Rays an improbable 5-3 win over New York. For 9 innings it was a 1-1 pitchers' duel with the Yankees' Danny Holley (6 shutout innings) and Tampa Bay's Ruben Cerrillo (7.2 7 1 1 0 6) dominating. Walt Kelly (4-2) then gave up a 2-run homer in the top of the 10th and it looked like the Rays were cooked but after Tony Fisher doubled, Danny Perez singled him home with two out to make it 3-2, Danny Arevalo singled and then Blackwell stepped up and curled one just inside the LF foul pole to win it.

Pitching was the coin of the realm again in the second game as Moises Baca (4-3) pitched the game of his MLB career and led Tampa Bay to a 2-0 win over the Yankees. Baca, who had struggled with his control all season which saw most of his starts abbreviated, was on point today going 6 1 0 0 1 7. And with the "A" bullpen tired Ken Battle came through with two scoreless and rookie Omar Sears pitched a 1-2-3 9th for his first MLB save. The offense came courtesy of solo homers in the 6th and 7th innings from Tony Fisher (#13) and Billy Doughty (#8).

After a pair of excellent starts the Rays got one even more impressive in the third game as rookie Sergio Espinoza dominated the Yankees in pitching a complete-game 2-hit shutout as Tampa Bay walloped New York 9-0. Espinoza, who struggled in a brief callup last year, has been very good so far since coming up as an injury fill-in and today walked 2 and fanned 12 in his 122-pitch gem (it helps that he's rated 70 stamina). This now makes him 2-0, 1.29 in three starts and he isn't going anywhere for now. It helped that he had plenty of support with Billy Doughty hitting a 2-run homer (#9), Danny Perez adding a 2-run triple and Danny Rivera going solo (#14) among the offensive highlights.

After allowing only 3 runs in the series' first 3 games with a pair of shutouts, the pitching faltered in a big way in the finale as the Yankees returned the favor of yesterday's rout in beating the Rays 10-4. Chris Ericson (4-3) remained terribly inconsistent, going 4.2 10 3 3 2 3 with a pair of homers allowed and it could have been worse while the bullpen was awful especially Jon Coggin who allowed five runs (one earned) in his not-brief-enough appearance. With Espinoza's emergence Ericson's days in the rotation may be numbered when the injured guys return. Tony Fisher's 2-run homer (#14) was the lone highlight of the day for Tampa Bay fans.

Team record: 43-18. Next up: Off to Baltimore for 3 games.

05-21-2025, 07:04 PM	#1537
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,613	June 6-9, 2039: vs NY Yankees (4) Another good series for Tampa Bay as they took 3 of 4 from the visiting Yankees and kept their stranglehold on the AL East intact. The opener saw maximum drama as Justin Blackwell's 3-run walk-off homer (#5) in the bottom of the 10th gave the Rays an improbable 5-3 win over New York. For 9 innings it was a 1-1 pitchers' duel with the Yankees' Danny Holley (6 shutout innings) and Tampa Bay's Ruben Cerrillo (7.2 7 1 1 0 6) dominating. Walt Kelly (4-2) then gave up a 2-run homer in the top of the 10th and it looked like the Rays were cooked but after Tony Fisher doubled, Danny Perez singled him home with two out to make it 3-2, Danny Arevalo singled and then Blackwell stepped up and curled one just inside the LF foul pole to win it. Pitching was the coin of the realm again in the second game as Moises Baca (4-3) pitched the game of his MLB career and led Tampa Bay to a 2-0 win over the Yankees. Baca, who had struggled with his control all season which saw most of his starts abbreviated, was on point today going 6 1 0 0 1 7. And with the "A" bullpen tired Ken Battle came through with two scoreless and rookie Omar Sears pitched a 1-2-3 9th for his first MLB save. The offense came courtesy of solo homers in the 6th and 7th innings from Tony Fisher (#13) and Billy Doughty (#8). After a pair of excellent starts the Rays got one even more impressive in the third game as rookie Sergio Espinoza dominated the Yankees in pitching a complete-game 2-hit shutout as Tampa Bay walloped New York 9-0. Espinoza, who struggled in a brief callup last year, has been very good so far since coming up as an injury fill-in and today walked 2 and fanned 12 in his 122-pitch gem (it helps that he's rated 70 stamina). This now makes him 2-0, 1.29 in three starts and he isn't going anywhere for now. It helped that he had plenty of support with Billy Doughty hitting a 2-run homer (#9), Danny Perez adding a 2-run triple and Danny Rivera going solo (#14) among the offensive highlights. After allowing only 3 runs in the series' first 3 games with a pair of shutouts, the pitching faltered in a big way in the finale as the Yankees returned the favor of yesterday's rout in beating the Rays 10-4. Chris Ericson (4-3) remained terribly inconsistent, going 4.2 10 3 3 2 3 with a pair of homers allowed and it could have been worse while the bullpen was awful especially Jon Coggin who allowed five runs (one earned) in his not-brief-enough appearance. With Espinoza's emergence Ericson's days in the rotation may be numbered when the injured guys return. Tony Fisher's 2-run homer (#14) was the lone highlight of the day for Tampa Bay fans. Team record: 43-18. Next up: Off to Baltimore for 3 games.