PORT CHARLOTTE (WDAE) -- Yoshi Tsutsugo had a base hit and a walk in two plate appearances, Randy Arozarena hit a two-run triple, and Ryan Yarbrough pitched a scoreless inning as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees 9-7 Sunday at Charlotte Sports Park.
After New York scored an unearned run off Diego Castillo in the second inning, Tampa Bay scored three times in the bottom of the inning. Jose Martinez and Tsutsugo each singled, and Kevin Kiermaier's fielder's choice tied the game. A base hit by Mike Zunino broke the tie, and a wild pitch later in the inning made it 3-1.
Miguel Andujar cut the lead back to a single run with a solo homer off Anthony Banda in the fifth, and the Yankees added four more runs off Shane McLanahan in the sixth to take the lead.
Tampa Bay cut the deficit to 6-5 in the sixth, and after NewYork added a run in the seventh, to 7-6 before Arozarena's triple off Trevor Lane scored Miles Mastrobuoni and Michael Perez to give Tampa Bay the lead. An error by catcher Wynston Sawyer throwing the baseball back to the pitcher let Arozarena score to set the game at 9-7.
FAMILY MAKES TREK FROM JAPAN TO SEE TSUTSUGO: After the game, a trio of three fans stood out from the crowd to see Yoshi Tsutsugo make his Rays spring debut. Perhaps it's because he's familiar to them.
Tsunayoshi Nagata made the trip from Yokohama, Japan, where Tsutsugo played for the last ten years, joined by his wife Meguni and brother Ryosuke, to see their favorite player. For Tsunayoshi and Meguni Nagata, the trip also served as their honeymoon after getting married last June. The trio were decked out in Yokohama DeNA Baystars gear.
UP NEXT: The Rays welcome the Boston Red Sox to Charlotte Sports Park Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05, and can be heard on raysbaseball.com, with Neil Solondz on the call.