The New York Yankees came into Sunday’s rubber match against the Tampa Bay Rays with the goal of notching their sixth series win. Starting for the Yankees was 25-year-old Luis Gil. After a brutal start in Toronto last Monday, in which Gil gave up a staggering seven walks and three earned runs in the Yankees’ loss against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankee starter came in today hoping to bounce back. Facing him was Rays pitcher, Aaron Civale. After his strong start against the Los Angeles Angels last Tuesday, going six innings with eight strikeouts, Civale looked to build on this productive performance.
Coming off an irritating 2-0 loss on Saturday to the Rays in which the Yankee offense was completely shut out, Yankee Entertainment and Sports (YES) broadcaster Jeff Nelson talked about how an early start from the offense would be one of the key points to success in today’s game. Nelson’s commentary and yesterday’s game were examples of a concerning trend. Outside of the recently acquired superstar Juan Soto, the 2024 Yankees seem unable to produce offense consistently. One of the biggest worries for the team is the lack of productivity from team captain Aaron Judge. Judge struck out four times on Saturday and had an abhorrent batting statline of .179/.323/.359 going into today’s contest. Judge’s abnormal start to the season, although not worrying to either himself or the team, represents a broader team struggle.
The team seemed to have heeded Nelson’s advice during the bottom of the first inning. With runners on second and first and two outs, first baseman Anthony Rizzo singled up the middle, bringing one runner home while the other reached second. Although the following batter struck out to end the inning, the Yankees found themselves leading early. Gil, like all the starting pitchers of this three-game series, was dominant. Outside of his balk at the top of the third which allowed the tying run to score, the young righty significantly improved from his last start. He ended the day with five 2/3 innings pitched, two hits, zero earned runs, three walks and a whopping nine strikeouts. Hopefully this game is an indicator that Gil has gained better control over his pitches and is becoming a stable fifth starter for the Yankees’ rotation.
Civale, however, was not as lucky as Gil. Throughout the course of the game, the Rays’ pitcher continued to get himself into trouble. Up until the fifth, the Yankees had runners in scoring position on numerous occasions but only came away with one run. This luck, however, completely ran out at the top of the fifth. Despite forcing groundouts out of both Soto and Judge, Civale followed this effort up by walking three batters in a row. With bases loaded and two outs, a single from outfielder Alex Verdugo scored two, breaking the game wide open. Up next was catcher Jose Trevino who also singled and brought in another. The carousel kept on going as third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera singled to bring in Verdugo. When the dust finally settled with shortstop Anthony Volpe striking out, Civale had given up four runs despite taking out the two “powerhitters” within the Yankees lineup.
The Yankees, now having a four-run lead over the Rays, avoided a bullpen blowup that almost cost the game. After a solid performance by Gil and a scoreless one-and-a-third innings by reliever Luke Weaver, Dennis Santana stepped into the top of the eighth, hoping to ice the inning and potentially the game. Although he got two outs, Santana also had runners on first and second with outfielder Amed Rosario up at bat. Rosario, who came in Sunday with a .343 batting average, crushed a ball into the left center gap for a two-run double. The damage was not finished, as second baseman Curtis Mead singled up the middle with Rosario scoring from second. Although Santana eventually got out of the inning with a line out from Ben Rortverdt, the Yankees lead was now a measly one run.
Scoring no runs at the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees put their hopes on lefty Victor Gonzalez to close the game out. After getting two quick outs and walking a batter, Gonzalez faced off against outfielder Harold Ramirez. Ramirez, on an 0-2 count, lined the ball at Gonzalez, which he then knocked down with his glove. He managed to quickly grab the ball and made a spectacular play to get Ramirez out at first, ending the game and notching his second save of the year.
With today’s victory over the Rays, the Yankees are now 15-7 and continue to hold on to their first-place spot in the American League East. However, with the Baltimore Orioles being only half a game back, the Yankees need to keep the momentum going in order to stay ahead of this young and dangerous team. The Yankees kick off their next series at home against the Oakland Athletics at 1:05 p.m. local time with Carlos Rodon taking the mound against ex-Yankee JP Sears.