The Yankees Win Series At The Trop, and They Pick Up Two Huge Lefty Bats
Jordan Montgomery got the start in Game one of the three game set against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Trop. Monty was excellent in this one. The Tampa hitters were making him work, but Monty was battled. Monty went five strong innings while allowing zero earned runs with five strikeouts. The Yanks went up 1-0 with a DJ Lemahieu RBI single in the fifth. Gio Urshela extended the lead in the sixth with a two run double to make it 3-0. Chad Green came on in the bottom of the sixth, and he gave up a two run homer to Brandon Lowe. Jonathan Loaisiga pitched a shutout seventh. In the top of the eighth Ryan Lammare hit a solo home run to make it a 4-2 Yankees lead. Zack Britton pitched the eighth, but he allowed a run on a Randy Arozarena RBI double. Britton escaped further trouble as he got Mike Zunino to ground into a double play. In the ninth Aroldis Chapman came on for the save. With two outs in the ninth Nelson Cruz stepped to the plate. After a tough at bat Chapman struck him out to end the game. The Yankees took game one at the Trop by a 4-3 score.
Nestor Cortes took the ball in Game two against the Rays. Cortes was sharp in this one, and he is really coming into a trusted member of this Yankee rotation. Both offenses were shut down until the fourth when Brandon Lowe’s RBI double allowed the Rays to take a 1-0 lead. In the top of the fifth DJ Lemahieu answered back with a sac fly to tie the game. Cortes ended up throwing five solid innings with one earned run for the Yanks. Lucas Luetge threw two shutout innings. Zack Britton pitched the eighth, and Chad Green pitched the ninth. After nine innings the game was still tied 1-1. In the tenth Aaron Judge broke the tie with a RBI single. Later that inning Greg Allen scored on a passed ball. Aroldis Chapman came on in the tenth. With runners on second and third with two outs, Francisco Mejia popped one up in the infield. DJ had a hard time seeing the ball, and he made a last second diving catch to win the game. The Yankees secured the series win with this 3-1 extra innings W.
Gerrit Cole toed the rubber as the Yankees looked to pick up a sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays at the Trop. Cole had a rough outing. He threw 5.1 innings with seven earned runs. Albert Abreu came in after Cole, and he was atrocious. He had six earned runs and did not record an out. After the sixth innings the Rays were up 14-0. The Yankees offense was dead in this game, but it did not matter because Cole and Abreu were horrible. Sal Romano and Clay Holmes finished the game for the Yanks. The Yankees dropped this one 14-0, and they failed to complete the sweep. The Yankees picked up a huge series win, but they leave the trop with a bitter taste in their mouth after being absolutely embarrassed in this game.
The Yankees will head to Loandepot Park as they have a three game set against the Mariners coming up. The Yankees will have two MAJOR additions with them in their next series, in Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo. Gallo and Rizzo were both traded for, and they add lineup balance, power hitting, and elite defense to this Yankee roster. There is no reason for Yankee fans to not be excited about these deadline acquisitions.