Tampa Bay Rays climb back up to a 1/2 game deficit as they crush the New York Yankees, 10 – 3 (pt 3 - Final)
The New York Yankees were hosting the series contest with the Tampa Bay Rays and the game was strapped in the top of the 6th with the visitors on the batting plate, leading with 4 - 3. The fixture between the two sides marked the final encounter
of the 4 game series.
The hosts were looking for series win, while their opponents were looking to square the set at games each. The two sides are involved in a hard line battle for the top spot in the American League East Division. With ten days to go till a winner can be decided,
it looks like the sides will continue to keep the fans at the edge of their seats.
The 4th match was halfway into the top 6th inning and Carsten Charles Sabathia had just gotten replaced by Joba Chamberlain for pitching duties. The Yankees were 3 – 1 up in the match before Sabathia conceded three runs to the Rays
to lose the lead and go ahead with 4 – 3. With 3 more innings to go after the 6th, it was important for Yanks manager Joe Girardi to rally his men behind the cause.
Unfortunately, Tampa Bay was not going to let go of their push that easily as they had Willy Aybar on third, Kelly Shoppach on second and Sean Rodriguez in the lead. It was a sticky situation to be in for the Yankees and Joba felt the pressure of the world
falling on him in front of a humungous 47,646 fans in the stands. To add on that note, B. J. Upton was on the plate. The energetic hitter is an enigma for many pitchers and it is never known how the players will react on the bag to any kind of throw.
Joba didn’t have to find out how things would turn it as Upton complemented the reliever’s throw with a ground rule double shot to the deep centre. Aybar and Shoppach cleared the final base with that shot and put the teams 3 points above the Yankees. If
someone thought Tampa Bay was going to quiet down after their successive hits, then they were in for more runs. Carl Crawford came on to the plate in the same innings and got Rodriguez and Upton through for 2 more runs with a single to the right. The damage
was done and the visitors were now 5 runs clear off the Yankees.
New York continued on from the bottom 6th but the players lacked focus and confidence to dent Price’s pitching in the bottom 6th. The Rays on the other hand were now on cloud 9 and they made a mockery of the Yankees bullpen as the squad
brought in two runs in the top 7th. Javier Vazquez replaced Chamberlain and Ben Zobrist walked in to face the reliever. It didn’t take long for things to south as Zobrist was walked and Desmond Jennings, Aybar and Shoppach were hit in quick session
by the pitcher. The last hit got Zobrist through and the visitors took the gift comfortably.
Dan Johnson appeared on the strike zone to hit for the Rays and he hit a sacrifice fly to get Jennings to the Rays’ tenth run. The innings then went on to end with Aybar being left stranded on the third base. However, the missed opportunity to score wasn’t
going to matter later on, given the Yankees weak run of form. The hosts crashed out as Tampa Bay’s bullpen took the sting out of the batters and quelled any threat that may have been apparent in the last three innings.
The series ended at 2 – 2 for both the Yankees and the Rays and given the gravity of the situation, there is not much time before a winner from the two ball clubs resurfaces. New York will be well aware of their hard time in the days to come given their
two series encounters with the Boston Red Sox. For Tampa Bay, the run to the finish line will look a bit easier than that of their rivals as they face the Baltimore Orioles in their next encounter.
For what it is worth, Major League Baseball is turning out to be a tantalizing game forum for fans at this time of the season. With the Minnesota Twins through to the post-season matches, many are gripping their seats in wild anticipation for deciders in
the East and West coast.
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