It's About Time the Yankees Stopped Futzing Around

It's about time the Yankees stopped futzing around and smacked the Tampa Bay Rays.

They began the game with 7 straight singles. It was the 1st time they started a game with 7 straight hits since... September 25, 1990. Okay, that's not a good sign, as they finished last that season.

But they got a single from Aaron Judge, a single from Giancarlo Stanton, an RBI single from Gleyber Torres, a single from Josh Donaldson, a 2-RBI single from Oswaldo Cabrera, an RBI single from Miguel Andújar, a single from Isiah Kiner-Falefa, an RBI groundout from Kyle Higashioka, a popup by Marwin González, and an RBI single from Judge, before Stanton grounded out.

This time, batting Judge leadoff, Stanton 2nd and Torres 3rd worked. Unfortunately, this means that Aaron Boone (perhaps under orders from Brian Cashman) will try it again. But, this time, it was 6-0 Yankees. I figured, with the opposing pitcher being a former Yankee, Corey Kluber, that the Yankees might get hardly any baserunners at all. But they knocked him out of the box in the 1st inning.

Donaldson hit a home run in the 2nd inning, to make it 7-0. The Rays got a run off Jameson Taillon in the 3rd, but it remained 7-1 until the 7th. The Yankees got 2 more runs on a hit-by-pitch, 2 singles and a wild pitch.

Taillon was allowed to start the 8th, but ran out of gas. Lou Trivino allowed 2 runners that he inherited to score. Stanton hit a home run to set the final score: Yankees 10, Rays 3. WP: Taillon (13-4). No save. LP: Kluber (10-8).

The Yankees really, really needed that win. It advances the Yankees to 4 1/2 games ahead of the Rays in the American League Eastern Division, 3 games in the loss column. The Magic Number to clinch the AL East is 20.

The series concludes this afternoon. Domingo Germán starts against Luis Patiño. If the Yankees can win this one, they'll be in considerably better shape than they were in when the series began.