All it took was four batters in Wednesday's Rays-Yankees game to see just how the Rays would respond to the shenanigans from Tuesday night's tense game.
The reality is that it took only two batters, as Randy Arozarena followed Manuel Margot's lead off double with a two-run homer, his first as a Ray, off Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery.
But the next two batters put a dagger in the Yankees' night, as Austin Meadows hit a hard single, and then Tuesday night's headhunting victim, Mike Brosseau, followed with another two-run blast off Montgomery, giving Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead in an eventual 5-2 victory over the Bronx Bombers.
In fact, Montgomery did not survive the first inning with the first five hitters reaching on hits, and then walking the 9th-place hitter, Nate Lowe, to load the bases. With Yankee manager Aaron Boone suspended, New York bench coach Carlos Mendoza had seen enough, and Nick Nelson came on to retire Margot for the third out of the first.
And if the Rays getting rid of the Yankee starter in the first inning wasn't odd enough, with one out in the first, the game was delayed for about five minutes by a drone that some clown in the Bronx decided to fly over the stadium!
Brosseau got more revenge on the Yankees with his second homer of the night, and his fourth of the season, this one a solo shot in the fourth inning off Yankee reliever Jonathan Holder.
But in the fifth, the Yankees paid for what seemed to be an honest pitch that got away from reliever Ben Heller that hit Hunter Renfroe in the thigh. Heller pleaded his case, but was ejected from the game after the umpires met to discuss the pitch, and the two teams were warned. There were no other fireworks after that.
The game ended up being a battle of long bullpens, as Rays' starter Charlie Morton, starting his first game since August 9th, was able to start the third inning, but left after a lead-off walk to the ninth-place Yankee hitter, Tyler Wade. Morton did not allow a hit, struck out four and walked two in his return.
The Yankees' first run came in the sixth on a solo home run by Clint Frazier, his fourth, off Diego Castillo.
Tampa Bay was held scoreless on only two hits the last five innings, but the Yankees had one last chance in the ninth, making the ending a little hairy for Rays fans.
An RBI single by D.J LeMahieu made the score 5-2, and brought the tying run to the plate in the form of the Bombers' home run leader, Luke Voit. But Pete Fairbanks was able to induce Voit to ground out, fittingly, to Brosseau, giving the Rays their eighth win out of the 10 games played against New York this season.
John Curtiss, who relieved Morton, pitched two and a third innings to earn his second win of the season, while Montgomery took the loss.
The Rays have Thursday off and are back in Tampa for a weekend series against the Miami Marlins, starting Friday. Josh Fleming will take the hill for the Rays, while Pablo Lopez starts for the Marlins. WDAE's coverage starts at 5:30 p.m. with Steve Carney and The Inside Pitch. First pitch is slated for 6:40 p.m.
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