The New York Yankees (44-20) knocked off the Tampa Bay Rays (32-36) 4-3 on Thursday night in the Big Apple.
The Rays started this game with a bang, as Matt Duffy, who had a walk off hit against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, blasted the very first pitch of the ballgame for a solo home run and a 1-0 Rays lead. Wilson Ramos had a key RBI in the third inning to lift the Rays to a 2-0 lead before New York began to answer.
In the bottom of the fifth inning against Blake Snell, Aaron Hicks homered first to cut the Rays lead to 2-1. Then Gleber Torres hit a three-run bomb to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead that the Rays could not recover from. Though Joey Wendle had an RBI in the sixth inning to pull within 4-3, that would be as close as Tampa Bay would get.
Blake Snell (8-4, 2.58) worked in and out of trouble all night, finishing with four earned runs on five hits while striking out eight and walking four in five innings of work. Domingo German pitched six innings allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out ten and walking two to get the win for the Yankees.
The Rays and Yankees meet in the second game of the three game series on Friday night in the Bronx. First pitch is set for 7:05 - coverage gets underway with Steve Carney and the Inside Pitch in Tampa Bay on 620 WDAE & 95.3 FM, your home of the Rays.