Aaron Judge strikes out four times in Yankees’ 2-0 loss to Rays in 10 innings
Nestor Cortes retired the first eight Rays before letting up a single to Rene Pinto. Cortes subsequently let up another single, but Pinto was thrown out trying to go to third by Trent Grisham. Cortes tossed another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, but got into some problems in the fifth inning.
The left-hander let up back-to-back singles before a sacrifice bunt advanced the runners. Cortes escaped the jam by striking out Jose Siri and Pinto, giving him eight K’s on the day to that point. He ran into a bit more trouble in the sixth with two runners on and only one out, but forced a fly out and a groundout to preserve it a scoreless game.
Cortes’ day terminated after seven shutout innings, as he struck out nine and allowed six hits over 102 pitches.
– Rays starting pitcher Zach Eflin retired 15 straight Yankees before Juan Soto crushed a double to the right-field corner with two outs in the sixth inning. It was Soto’s second hit of the day, giving him two-thirds of the team’s hits. However, the Yanks couldn’t capitalize on the runner in scoring position as Eflin struck out Aaron Judge for the third time of the afternoon.
– After Alex Verdugo singled with one out in the seventh inning, manager Aaron Boone elected to pinch-hit Grisham for superstar Giancarlo Stanton. The move backfired, as Stanton grounded into the 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.
– Luke Weaver stepped in to throw the eighth and fired a short 1-2-3 inning on 12 pitches, ending it off by striking out Randy Arozarena. After the Yanks failed to score in the bottom half, Clay Holmes preserved it a 0-0 game with a dominant ninth inning, including two strikeouts. In the bottom of the ninth, Soto and Anthony Rizzo both hit deep flyouts and Judge struck out for a fourth time to force extra innings.
– Jose Caballero drove in the game’s first run in the 10th, tripling off Caleb Ferguson on a ball that sailed over the head of Soto in right-center. Former Yankee Ben Rortvedt gave Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead with a bloop single to left. New York fell down in order in the bottom of the inning, wasting a strong performance from Cortes.
Game MVP: Zach Eflin
Eflin dominated the Yankees on Saturday afternoon, hurling six scoreless innings with six strikeouts and only three hits allowed. He struck out Judge three times, the last with a runner on second base in a key moment. Eflin has now struck out Judge eight times over 12 career at-bats, surrendering just one hit.
New York concluded with just four hits on the day, as Eflin’s efforts affected the Yanks’ mindset at the plate.
