Sean Rodriguez helps Tampa Bay Rays topple New York Yankees 7-4 – MLB Update
Tampa Bay Rays continued their impressive winning streak at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida as they beat the New York Yankees 7-4 on Tuesday, July 3 in the second game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Joe Maddon and company had the better of their arch rivals in series opener with a 4-3 win and they maintained their excellent form on Tuesday evening to take a decisive 2-0 lead. It was Rays’ ninth straight home win against New York and credit must be given
to the skipper for getting his tactics absolutely right.
Sean Rodriguez single handedly won the game for his team as he turned his training lessons into a big offensive effort.
"Great at-bats," Rays’ manager Joe Maddon said about Rodriguez. "Obviously, the home run was big. Struck the ball well. I'm sure that's going to really bolster his confidence."
"That was a very big moment in tonight's game," he further added.http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/4281/dewayne-wisehttp://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/28474/james-shieldsThe short-stop hit a two run homer-run in the fourth inning to help Tampa Bay comeback from behind to clinch a 5-4 lead. Going 3-for-4, Rodriguez also improved his average to .221 this season.
"Any night with three hits, and it's always good," Rodriguez said in a post game interview.
"Definitely been more focused on certain things," Rodriguez said. "Positioning in the box. What my mindset is when I get in the box, and what I'm looking for. Having the right approach."
Desmond Jennings stole home and Ben Zobrist singled to right in the seventh to lift the Rays to a 7-4 win.
Starting pitcher James Shields had a decent outing as he gave up four runs and ten hits in just over seven innings to keep the Rays in the game. Relief pitcher Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect ninth for his 24th save of the year.
Yankees’ starting pitcher Ivan Nova, who had won all of his previous five starts, gave up six runs and seven hits in six plus innings. He will be looking to work on his weaknesses to avoid similar errors on his next appearance. The Rays will be excited by
their win as they will try to build up some confidence in their line-up.
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