That's More Like It

How badly did the Yankees need to bounce back against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field yesterday afternoon? Very badly. They needed to win, if for no other reason than to show the Rays that somebody in the American League Eastern Division wasn't going to put up with them.

Domingo Germán started, and, as much as any pitcher who only goes 5 innings can, got the job done. He allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. He deserved to be the winning pitcher.

He wasn't, because, again, the Yankees weren't hitting. They stranded men on 1st & 2nd with 1 out in the 2nd inning, a man on 1st with 1 out in the 5th, a man on 2nd with 2 out in the 6th, and men on 1st & 2nd with nobody out in the 7th. That is not productive baseball.

In the meantime, Wandy Peralta got into trouble in the 6th, and had to get bailed out by Ron Marinaccio, who also pitched a scoreless 7th. Peralta isn't quite the Aaron Hicks of pitchers, but he looks like he's working on it. Still, after 7, the Yankees trailed 2-0. Close enough that it can be overcome -- Cliché Alert, John Sterling Edition: That's just a bloop and a blast, or a walk and a wallop -- but far enough that the current Yankees looked like they couldn't do it.

But with 1 out in the top of the 8th, Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres singled. DJ LeMahieu doubled Rizzo home. Harrison Bader singled Torres and LeMahieu home. The Yankees had the lead!

Clay Holmes pitched a scoreless 8th. Aaron Boone didn't trust him to do the same in the 9th. He trusted Ian Hamilton to do that, and he did. That's more like it: Yankees 3, Rays 2. WP: Marinaccio (1-1). SV: Hamilton (the 1st of his career). LP: Kevin Kelly (3-1).

The rubber game of this series will be played this afternoon, with a first pitch of 1:40. Gerrit Cole starts and Javy Guerra.

Also: Having been humiliated in the Playoffs by the Devils, the Rangers fired head coach Gerard Gallant. And a 15-1 shot named Mage won the Kentucky Derby. I understand there was something going on in London, too...