Rays’ hitters couldn’t figure out Masahiro Tanaka. Snap five game winning streak against the Yankees.
In his first appearance since the end of April, Yonny Chirinos went toe to toe with Masahiro Tanaka for most of the game. Both pitchers were extremely effective as there was a 12 out stretch in the game that required a combined 35 pitches between both starting pitchers. Unfortunately for the Rays, Tanaka was on his A-game tonight. The 29-year-old right-hander ended his evening with a three hit shutout while striking out nine Rays.
“I know Chad’s [Mottola, hitting coach] message before the game was pretty spot on. He’s going to throw a lot of off-speed pitches and he’s going to try and get you to chase below the zone and we did that,” Kevin Cash said when asked about Tanaka. ” A lot of late action, cut sink and the split was the equalizer. He was really good. He was really tough.”
Chirinos pitched well himself against a loaded Yankees lineup. He scattered six hits across 6.2 innings of work, the longest outing of his major league career. He did allow three earned runs in the 6.2 innings, however.
“I thought he was outstanding. I really did,” Cash said of Chirinos. “Yonny got us much deeper in the ballgame than maybe we were anticipating before the game started.
Chirinos was asked how he felt he did against such a tough opponent and how we felt physically after the game, “Honestly I tried to stay as focused and contrary as I could against this lineup. Luckily, I feel good. It’s been a long time since I’ve thrown that many innings, but luckily I feel really good.”
Tonight gave the Yankees a 5-4 season series lead over the Rays.
Another shutout
This was the seventh time the Rays have been shutout and their fifth time at Tropicana Field.
C.J. Cron provided two of the three hits for the Rays tonight. The two hit outing raised his average to .257 on the year.
Notes
The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) announced that Joey Wendle will receive the Heart and Hustle Award for the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Joey is a hardworking player and an asset to the Rays,” said Dan Foster, who is the CEO of the MLBPAA. “His passion and dedication to the game make him the perfect candidate for this award.”
Each of the 30 MLB teams have an individual that receives the award. An overall winner will be announced November 8, 2018 at the 19th Annual Legends for Youth Dinner in New York City.
Next Up
The series concludes with Nathan Eovaldi (3-4, 4.26) battling Luis Cessa (1-1, 3.00) in the rubber match. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10 EST.
