Carlos Rodon's poor first inning dooms Yankees in 5-3 loss to Rays
The Yankees offense could not dig out of the hole Carlos Rodon put them in as New York fell 5-3 to the Rays on Tuesday night.
Here are the takeaways...
-Rodon did not give the Yankees what they needed Tuesday, at least not early. After getting staked to a 1-0 lead in the first, the southpaw gave up four runs in the opening frame. A Randy Arozarena double, and an Alex Verdugo fielding error, pushed across the tying run before Isaac Paredes launched a three-run shot to put the Rays up 4-1 before Rodon recorded an out.
Rodon would settle down to give the Yankees four innings, but that first inning put New York down for good. Rodon threw 95 pitches (55 strikes) over his four innings, giving up the four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five.
Over his last three starts, Rodon has allowed 15 runs over 14.1 innings.
-On the other hand, the Yankees bullpen was very effective. The combination of Jake Cousins (2 IP), Michael Tonkin (1.2) and Tommy Kahnle (0.1) pitched four innings, giving up two hits, two walks while striking out six batters. Kahnle did give up a huge run -- charged to Tonkin -- on a Jonny DeLuca double that scored Jose Siri from first.
-With the Yankees down 4-1, the lineup got to the Rays bullpen in the seventh. With a man on base, Ben Rice came up against the lefty Colin Poche. The first baseman launched a 91 mph fastball 104 feet over the right field wall to cut the Rays' lead to 4-3. It was Rice's first hit since his three-homer performance on Saturday. Rice finished 1-for-5.
Rice now has five home runs in 19 games while Anthony Rizzo has eight home runs in 70 games played.
-Gleyber Torres returned to the starting lineup after a couple of games off due to a groin injury. He finished 1-for-4 with a two-out RBI single in the first that put the Yankees on the board.
-In the ninth, DJ LeMahieu hit a one-out single to allow the tying run to go up to the plate. However, Rice struck out and Juan Soto -- who finished 0-for-4 with a walk -- lined out to center field to end the game.
The Yankees (55-38) have now lost 17 of their last 23 games.
Game MVP: Ryan Pepiot
The Rays starter dominated the Yankees lineup after the first inning. The right-hander pitched 5.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits, and three walks while striking out seven batters.
Highlights
What's next
The Yankees and Rays continue their series on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:50 p.m.
Marcus Stroman (7-4, 3.58 ERA) will look to get the Yankees back in the win column against Zach Eflin (5-5, 4.19 ERA)
