On the way to winning the 1996 World Series, the Yankees gathered around the slogan of second baseman Mariano Duncan printed on T-shirts.
“We play today. We win today. That’s it, ” was Duncan’s message.
Nearly a quarter of a century later, the Yankees’ motto should be “Gerrit Cole pitches today. We win today. Das it.”
Saturday afternoon that happened too, though Cole was not the winning pitcher in an 8-4 victory over the Rays in the first of two seven-run games at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
With Yankee pitchers completing nine walks and hitting a bump, the Rays took the night lead, 5-3.
Left-handed hitter Mike Ford fought for Giancarlo Stanton in the sixth inning of the second game against lefty Jalen Beeks, which was a strong indication that something was wrong with Stanton.
Opener Mike King ran five in 3 ² / nings innings and Luis Avilan two in one third of an inning. Avilan also put up a bloop two-run single against Austin Meadows in the fourth when the Rays snapped a 1-1 tie.
In his first-class debut, Albert Abreu ran one, hit a bat and gave a two-run single to Kevan Smith who extended the hosts’ lead to 5-1 in the fifth.
To the top of the fifth, Aaron Boone was outscored by flat umpire Vic Carapazza. The Yankees’ dugout turned out to shoot at the Rays pitchers to throw hard up and toward Yankee hitters.
The split left the Yankees with a 10-5 record. They have lost three of four and will try to come out of Florida on Sunday with a split of the four-game series as the wrestling James Paxton (0-1, 13.50 ERA) against Charlie Morton against.
In the first game, one away from qualifying for what would be his 20th straight win, Cole was removed by Boone after giving up a two-run homer to Jose Martinez who cut the Yankees’ lead to 5-3 . Cole needed a high 107 pitches for seasons to enter 4 ² / ₃, in which he gave up three runs, six hits and 10. 10. The Yankees are 4-0 in Cole’s four starts.
‘Good and bad. I thought the fastball location was improved. Of course, the pitch came up and could not complete the performance as we wanted, ” said Cole. ‘But there was some kind of improvement over the whole board, that I will try to take that.’ ‘
Boone gave the Rays hitters credit for making Cole sweat, even at the opening of four frames, when the hosts failed to score.
‘Credit to them, they obviously made him work and really pushed his numbers up,’ ‘Boone said. ‘They could get a man on base, it seemed like every inning. I thought he was generally pretty sharp so as not to get through five. ‘ ‘
An RBI double by Ji-Man Choi in the fifth was followed by Martinez’s two-run homer and suddenly a 5-0 lead was reduced to a two-run cushion and late to Boone called on Chad Green.
‘Finally a few mistakes that cost him to get through [five]. I thought the other side at least made it difficult for him when I thought he was pretty sharp, ” said Boone, who used Adam Ottavino for the seventh to seal a win that would be a two-game losing streak. stopped, though briefly.
After hitting 1-0 Friday night and failing to reach home record in the previous 13 innings, Yankees gas-thrown right-hander Tyler Glasnow struck in the third inning on Saturday.
Boone put the left-handed hot Ford between Aaron Judge and Stanton third in order and he smashed a two-run homer on a fastball that traveled 437 feet. Gio Urshela added a double of two runs that ended Glasnow’s day.
Stanton homered and led the fifth and Judge’s eighth homer delivered two runs in the sixth.
‘Game plan for him, you always have to be on the heater,’ ‘Ford said of Glasnow, whose fastball reached 98km / h in the second inning. ‘Of course he has an electric fastball and a great breaking ball. For me, it was the whole game staying on the heater. ‘ ‘
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