The New York Yankees (22-18) defeated the Tampa Bay Rays (30-10) 6-5 on Friday evening in the Bronx.
The Rays took an early 1-0 lead when Randy Arozarena homered in the first inning, before Anthony Rizzo hit his first homer of the game in the bottom of the first to tie the game 1-1. Jose Siri hit a solo homer in the second to give the Rays back a 2-1 lead, but Anthony Volpe homered in the bottom of the fifth and the Yankees tied the game 2-2.
New York took their first lead of the game in the seventh inning thanks to RBI singles from Anthony Volpe and Oswaldo Cabrera that made it 4-2. However, Josh Lowe hit a three-run homer in the top of the eighth that gave the Rays the lead once again, this time by a score of 5-4.
One hit in the bottom of the eighth would prove to be the difference in this game, as Anthony Rizzo hit his second homer of the game to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead which would be the final score.
Trevor Kelley allowed one earned run in two innings as the opener, before giving way to Josh Fleming who allowed one earned run on three hits in his four innings as the bulk pitcher. Jason Adam (0-1, 1.69) blew just his second save of the season allowing one earned run while getting two out in the eighth inning.
The Rays and Yankees meet in the third game of their four game series on Saturday afternoon. Ace Shane McClanahan is scheduled to start for the Rays, and is expected to face Nestor Cortes for New York. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 1:05 PM from Yankee Stadium - Neil Solondz begins pregame coverage at 12:30 PM on 95.3 WDAE & AM 620.
PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES