NEW YORK, N.Y. — The New York Yankees (5-10) have had no success against their division rivals as of late. Counting last season’s ALDS win for the Tampa Bay Rays (8-8), the Yankees have dropped seven straight series to the Rays. Entering the Matchup on Sunday, the Yankees had already lost the opening two games during a four-game losing skid.
Things only got worse in New York as the Rays completed the series sweep on Sunday in a 4-2 win. With the score tied in the 7th, the designated hitter Yoshi Tsutsu stroked an RBI double into the right-centerfield gap. The 3-2 lead held until the 9th when Yankee-killer Joey Wendle added an insurance run with a solo home run. Wendle is 16 for 36 in his last 10 outings against the Yankees.
No team has struggled out of the gate in 2021 like the Yankees. At 5-10, the Yankees hold the worst record in the American League. The last time the Yankees were in last place in the AL was 1968.
Before the game, the former all-star Jay Bruce announced his plans to retire from the MLB following Sunday’s game. Over his 14-year career, Bruce made the all-star game three times (2011,2012, 2016), won two Silver Slugger Awards (2012 and 2013), and finished with 319 career home runs.
“I feel like it hit me probably a week ago when the thought kind of stopped leaving my mind. I wanted to think about it thoroughly and really think it through. On Friday, I decided to let Aaron (Boone) know that my plan was to retire,” said Bruce.
Cole gets the loss despite another dominant strikeout performance
Despite racking up 10 strikeouts, Gerrit Cole suffers his first loss of the year. He falls to 2-1 in his 2nd season in New York. In his last 13 regular season starts, Cole has recorded at least 7 K’s in all of them. He is just the third pitcher since 2001 to accomplish such a feat, joining Shane Bieber (September 2019-present) and Corey Kluber (June-August 2017).
Against the Rays, Cole has not been himself since signing with the Yankees. In his six matchups with the Rays since signing in 2019, the Rays are 4-2 in those games. Cole now has a 1-2 record vs. the Rays in a Yankees uniform.
For the Rays, they started the game with Andrew Kittredge as an opener. He gave way to starter Ryan Yarbrough who picked up his first win on the season (1-2). In the 9th, Jeffrey Springs retired the Yankees to earn his first save of his MLB career.
Rays pitchers have allowed no more than five hits in each of their last games. That is tied for the second-longest stretch in franchise history. The Rays improve to 5-1 this season and win their 6th consecutive regular-season series against the Yankees. On the road, the Rays have an 8-1 record in their last 9 games in Yankee stadium.
