Offense shows up, German and Shreve don't as Yanks lose 7-6 in extras to get swept by Rays

A weekend to forget at Tropicana Field came to a disappointing end Sunday as the Yankees dropped the series finale to the Rays by a score of 7-6 in 12 innings. With the loss, the Yankees lost three in a row for the first time this season.

Photo Credit: Chris O'Meara/AP Photo

After dropping the first two games of the series, everyone was hoping for the Yanks to get off to a strong start. That did not happen. After a 1-2-3 top of the first, Tampa started the bottom of the first with a bang. Kevin Kiermaier led off with a triple and Matt Duffy followed it up with an RBI double to give the Rays a quick 1-0 lead. Domingo German’s first inning woes continued when he gave up a two-out double to Carlos Gomez to put Tampa up 2-0 after one. German now owns an 8.00 ERA in the opening frame. Fortunately, the Yankees offense finally showed up in the second. After scoring one run over their last 27 innings, Miguel Andujar ended that with a three-run home run to left to put New York on top 3-2.

The lead did not last long, however. After allowing a solo home run to Adeiny Hechavarria in the second to tie the game, Domingo’s Sunday nightmare continued in the third inning when he served up four more hits and three more runs to give Tampa a 6-3 lead. After three solid starts in a row, today was a big step back for German. From there, the Yankees bullpen held down the fort. Warren, Holder, Robertson, Betances and Green combined to fire eight hitless innings to give the team a chance to come back. For Holder, he has not allowed a run in his last 24.1 innings pitched.

Offensively, the Yankees managed to chip away at the lead by scoring two in the fifth thanks two-out, RBI doubles by Didi Gregorius and Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton, who went 5-5 on the day, wasn’t done either. In the eighth, he hit a clutch, game-tying solo home run off former Yankee Vidal Nuno, his 19th of the year. In the ninth, it looked like the Yankees had a chance to take the lead when Clint Frazier hit a moonshot, but Tropicana Field reared its ugly head as a ball that looked headed for the seats smashed off a speaker and was caught off the ricochet. How this could happen in an MLB stadium is hard to believe.

From there, the game went into extra innings and stayed tied into the bottom of the 12th inning. As the road team in a non-save situation, Boone elected to bring Chasen Shreve in to pitch the bottom of the 12th instead of closer Aroldis Chapman. That decision didn’t take long to look foolish as Jake Bauers cranked the first pitch he saw from Shreve for the first walk-off home run of his career. Get Shreve off this team. Also of note is that Gary Sanchez pulled up lame in the 10th inning running out a ground ball and was removed from the game. In his press conference, Boone said a DL stint appears likely.

What’s Next?

The Yankees travel north to the City of Brotherly Love for a three-game series with the surging Philadelphia Phillies (winners of seven of their last 10) at Citizens Bank Park. The series opens tomorrow night with Jonathan Loaisiga (1-0, 3.12 ERA) making the third start of his young career and taking on Vince Velasquez (5-7, 4.82 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05pm on YES and MLBN. The Bombers are now 50-25 on the season and once again tied atop the AL East with the Boston Red Sox.

Recap by: Jake Graziano

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