Sloppy Yankees waste another quality start from Gerrit Cole
No matter how much he may want to, Gerrit Cole cannot do it all.
The Yankees right-hander cannot spark the offense or steady the defense behind him. With an impotent offense and more defensive lapses, the Yankees wasted another of his starts Sunday. Cole allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits. He struck out 10 and did not walk a batter. The Yankees, however, still dropped their fifth straight game, losing 4-2 to the Rays at the Stadium.
The Rays swept the three-games to take their second series of the season from the Yankees. It was the first time the Yankees have been swept in a series of at least three-games since Aug. 18-20, 2020, when the Rays also swept them. The Rays have won the last six regular season series against the Yankees and beat them in the best-of-five American League Division Series last season.
The Yankees managed just three hits off the Rays, who started Andrew Kittredge for 1.2 innings and then went to their bulk guy in Ryan Yarbrough. In the three-game series, the Yankees managed 11 hits, (hitting .120 as a team), including three homers. They struck out 37 times.
DJ LeMahieu came through in the fifth, looping a single into right field and scoring Gio Urshela from second base. That tied the game at 2-2. The Yankees took a lead in the second when Giancarlo Stanton hit his third homer of the season. That was the first lead the Yankees have had since Wednesday’s loss to the Blue Jays.
And they held it for less than half an inning
The Rays led off the third with three straight singles against Cole, including Kevin Keirmaier’s bobbled fly ball to center and an RBI, line drive single by Yandy Diaz which Aaron Hicks missed and let get by him. The error allowed Mike Zunino, who led off with a single, to score. Manuel Margot gave the Rays the lead with a sacrifice fly to left, which Clint Frazier then sent sailing past second allowing Diaz to advance to third. Cole struck out Austin Meadows to get out of the game and shut the Rays down from there.
Cole retired 13 straight until Joey Wendle hit a one-out single in the seventh. It was a hard-hit liner, but even though Chad Green was close to being ready, Aaron Boone kept him in to face Yoshi Tsutsugo. The Rays’ designated hitter doubled on Cole’s 109th pitch of the game to drive in the Rays’ third run.
Joey Wendle homered off Darren O’Day in the top of the ninth. It was the first run O’Day allowed as a Yankee.
Cole’s 10 strikeouts gave him 39 on the season, besting Masahiro Tanaka’s 35 strikeouts for the best through the first four starts of the season.
