NEW YORK — Richie Palacios led off the game against Marcus Stroman with the first of Tampa Bay’s four home runs, Jose Siri took a 34-second trot after his longball and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 6-4 on Sunday.
Randy Arozarena hit his third home run in two days and José Caballero also went deep as the Rays hit four homers for the second straight day, something they had done once in their first 97 games.
After the Rays opened a 5-0 lead, Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning off Jason Adam, a 444-foot drive to left field. Judge leads the major leagues with 35 homers and 89 RBIs.
Tampa Bay has won two straight after a series-opening loss and moved back over .500 at 50-49 heading into Monday’s series finale. The Yankees dropped to 9-20 after a 50-22 start.
New York’s Aaron Boone was ejected before the start of the seventh inning for arguing, his major league-high fifth ejection this season and 38th of his managing career. Boone was angry over a called third strike to slumping Alex Verdugo.
New York’s rotation had a major league-best 2.86 ERA during a 51-24 start through June 18 but has a big league-worst 6.39 mark since. The Yankees allowed 22 runs in the first inning of their opening 70 games but have given up 25 in their last 31.
New York hit a pair of double-play grounders, raising its total to a big league-high 94, and failed to score before Judge’s homer despite nine of its first 20 batters reaching base.
After the Yankees didn’t capitalize on bases-loaded situations in each of the first two innings against Shane Baz, left-hander Garrett Cleavinger (6-2) relieved with two on in the fourth, struck out Ben Rice and retired Juan Soto on a flyout.
Pete Fairbanks pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances, allowing Rice’s one-out walk and Soto’s RBI double off the left-center wall. Judge hit a long foul drive and flied out to center, and Austin Wells took a called third strike.
New York rested two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu, hitting just .177 and hitless in 17 at-bats. Verdugo went 0 for 4 and is hitless in 19 at-bats. His .143 average from June 15 on is last in the major leagues among qualified batters and he has grounded to second base 56 times.
Stroman (7-5) gave up three runs — two earned — and three hits in 5 1/3 innings. He has allowed 17 home runs, four shy of his career high.
Baz yielded four hits and five walks over 3 1/3 scoreless innings in his third major league start since returning from Tommy John surgery. He got four swings and misses, down from nine in each of his first two starts.
Palacios hit his first career leadoff homer and Arozarena boosted the lead to 2-0 in the fourth with his 15th home run this season, his fifth against the Yankees.
Josh Lowe reached when Gleyber Torres allowed his grounder to bounce off his glove for his 12th error, most among big league second basemen. Lowe stole second and scored on Caballero’s single.
Siri hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Jake Cousins and cupped his right hand to his ear while rounding third. Caballero homered off Luke Weaver in the ninth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: LHP Jeffrey Springs (Tommy John surgery in May 2023) allowed two runs, four hits and one walk Saturday night in a start for Triple-A Durham shortened by rain to three innings. It was his 11th minor league rehab appearance.
Yankees: DH Giancarlo Stanton (strained left hamstring) took batting practice on the field and ran out of the batter’s box. He could be ready for games within a week.
UP NEXT
Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (9-7) starts against Tampa Bay’s Zack Littell (3-6) in a Monday matinee.
In a thrilling matchup between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees, the Rays emerged victorious despite a standout performance from Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. Judge, who hit his 35th home run of the season during the game, was unable to carry his team to victory as the Rays came out on top with a final score of 5-3.
The game started off with both teams trading blows, with the Yankees taking an early lead thanks to Judge’s home run in the first inning. However, the Rays quickly responded with a strong offensive showing of their own, scoring runs in the second and third innings to take the lead.
The Rays’ pitching staff also played a crucial role in their victory, with starter Tyler Glasnow delivering a solid performance on the mound. Glasnow kept the Yankees’ potent lineup in check, allowing just three runs over six innings of work.
Despite Judge’s impressive display of power at the plate, the rest of the Yankees’ lineup struggled to generate much offense against the Rays’ pitching staff. The Rays’ bullpen also came up big in the late innings, shutting down any potential comeback attempts from the Yankees.
Overall, it was a hard-fought victory for the Rays, who were able to come out on top against a tough opponent in the Yankees. While Judge’s home run was certainly a highlight of the game, it was ultimately not enough to secure a win for New York.
The Rays will look to build on this victory as they continue their push for a playoff spot, while the Yankees will aim to bounce back from this loss and regain their winning ways. With both teams vying for postseason berths, every game is crucial at this point in the season.