Tampa Bay Rays defeat New York Yankees 5-1 in series-opener – MLB Update
The American League’s Tampa Bay Rays’ batting crushed the New York Yankees’ Bartolo Colon to take a 5-1 win in the first outing of the four-game series at Yankee Stadium, on Thursday, July 7.
The Rays’ blistered the Yankees’ ace Colon for ten hits to grab five runs even before entering into the bottom of the fifth inning. They scored one run in the first and two each in the third and fifth inning to post a 5-0 lead.
In the first inning, Evan Longoria started the game by driving in a single to centre-field to take 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Then second baseman Ben Zobrist launched a scorching 356-feet long one-run homer to right-field followed by an RBI
single by centre-fielder B.J. Upton.
Upton again contributed this time with a dazzling 359-feet long two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning. After this hit, the Yankees replaced Colon with Hector Noesi, who stopped the Rays’ stormy bat with his furious pitching.
Allowing five runs on ten hits including two homers in just over five innings cost Colon his fourth loss of the season. He also allowed four walks and managed only one strike-out. His reliever Noesi scattered only two hits, walked one and snatch four batters
over three innings.
"I really believe it brings out the best in us. We were really up for that game tonight," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "That's like playing the first game of a playoff series."
The Rays’ starter Jeff Niemann, on the other hand displayed plenty full of beautiful sinkers to create trouble for the Yankees. He held the opposing batters scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning when he allowed a 414-feet long one-run homer to Robinson
Cano. Besides this run, he remained phenomenal and completed his seven innings, allowing just two walks and taking four batters to grab his fourth win of the season. He has 4-4 record with 4.53 ERA after ten starts.
After he allowed a walk to Mark Teixeira, his reliever Juan Cruz took over the responsibility up the middle of the eighth inning and tossed four strikes of six pitches. Then the closer tossed a perfect ninth inning to take two batters and grab his club their
49th win of the season.
Derek Jeter made only one hit in five at-bats to be two runs shy of 3000 hits in his Major League career.
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