Rays Beat Yankees 4-2 in Fine Fashion, End 7-Game Road Losing Streak

NEW YORK — All the things that have been going wrong for the Tampa Bay Rays lately suddenly righted themselves on Monday night. The Rays beat the New York Yankees 4-2 in the opener of the their critical four-game series, and they did it by shining in every phase of the game.

After a shaky first inning from starter Drew Rasmussen, the Rays got great pitching, which they haven't been able to say very often lately. They played great defense and got timely hitting, too. They looked like the Rays that went 25-9 through much of June and not the lost and frustrated team was that 7-18 in its last 25 games.

This win? They really needed it. Especially with the trade deadline looming on Thursday and popular pieces heading out the door. That started on Monday, too, when catcher Danny Jansen was scratched just before the game and traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.

"It's an unsettling time of year, but also, the talent that is in this room is off the charts," Rasmussen told reporters after the game. "As a group, things haven't necessarily gone our way the last couple of weeks. But I think we have an understanding of how good we can be.

"We saw it in May, we saw it in June. And it's just one of those things that, yeah, we do need to turn things around a little bit. But also we have the right group to do it."

Junior Caminero, the Rays' 22-year-old All-Star third baseman, started the game off right, hitting a two-run homer in the first inning in front of a lot of family and friends at Yankee Stadium.

But in the bottom of the inning, ace Rasmussen gave it all back in a rare display of wildness. He gave up three straight one-out singles to Jasson Dominguez, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton to load the bases, and then walked Jazz Chisholm and Ryan McMahon to tie the game.

It was a bad sign, since Rasmussen is still on a closely-watched pitch count this season. He needed 33 pitches just to get through the first.

But from there, he got locked in. He got 11 straight outs before Dominguez got a two-out single in the fifth. But on the next pitch, Bellinger flew out to right to end the inning. Rasmussen got through his five innings — which was the goal — on 81 pitches.

Rasmussen (8-5) wound up getting the win, too, because the Rays scored a run in the top of the fifth. Yandy Diaz opened the inning with a walk, and Jonathan Aranda singled him to second. Josh Lowe then laced a one-out single to center to give the Rays a 3-2 lead.

They added an insurance run in the eighth on a Diaz sacrifice fly, but the much maligned Rays bullpen took it from there. Edwin Uceta was perfect in the sixth and seventh, getting four strikeouts. Garrett Cleavinger pitched the eighth, giving up a single but getting two outs, and closer Pete Fairbanks ended the inning with a strikeout of Stanton.

Fairbanks then picked up his 18th save in the ninth, allowing only a two-out single to McMahon. It ended a seven-game road losing streak for the Rays.

And it also allowed them to finally celebrate a bit. It's been a rough couple of weeks.

"I know [the Trade Deadline] affects our players, and you care about the players," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "I don't know if the right message is to say something, or not say something and let them go out and play.

"But to a man, it's a smart group in there. They know what's going on, and they know what's at stake these last couple of days."

The Rays had some highlight-reel defensive plays, too. Taylor Walls, who had a rough time in Cincinnati at shortstop, made a great diving play and throw Monday, and center fielder Jonny DeLuca made the final out by chasing down Austin Wells' fly ball to the wall.

“Unbelievable catch,” Fairbanks said. “It’s great to have him back out there and healthy and feeling good. He might not be as fast as (speedy rookie) Chandler (Simpson), and he kind of looks like the Road Runner when his legs get going chasing after something. But the man can do it out there, and he showed that tonight.”

The Rays are 54-53 now, and nine games out of first in the American League East behind the Toronto Blue Jays, who lost to the Baltimore Orioles 11-4. They also gained a game in the wild-card race, and a 2.5 behind the Boston Red Sox, who lost 5-4 at Minnesota.

They'll try to keep in going on Tuesday, when Joe Boyle joins the rotation for the Rays, taking the spot of Taj Bradley, who was sent down to Durham last week. Boyle has pitched in five games with the Rays this season, and is 1-0 with a nice 1.42 ERA and a ridiculous 0.63 whip.

He'll face Max Fried (11-4, 2.62), who's been really tough on Tampa Bay this season. He's beaten them twice early in year, going seven-plus in two starts without allowing a run, and just three hits. The game starts at 7:05 p.m. ET, and is nationally televised on TBS.