​ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The dam finally broke for the Yankees in Thursday afternoon’s third inning, when they sent 10 men to the plate and plated six runs to chase Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who had been a thorn in their side with a 0.89 career ERA over nine previous appearances against New York. The early offensive surge featured Ben Rice, who crushed a two-run homer in the third and followed with a three-run shot in the sixth, marking his fourth long ball of a crucial series at Tropicana Field.
In what became a bullpen-by-committee victory, the Yankees rolled out seven pitchers and defeated the AL East-leading Rays 12-4, trimming Tampa Bay’s division lead to four games and securing a split of the four-game set. Heading into Thursday, New York had struggled to sustain offense, averaging just 2.8 runs per game in 20 outings since June 18 and dropping 15 of those 20 games.
The Rays briefly faced a more unconventional opponent by the ninth inning, as they hit against Rays infielder Ben Williamson, who managed to induce a perfect 1-2-3 frame while delivering a pair of 44-mph floaters. Yet the Yankees had built enough cushion to withstand any later-life quirks of the box score.
A pivotal moment in the six-run third came courtesy of Ryan McMahon, whose 12-pitch at-bat produced the RBI double that capped a sequence sparked by Max Schuemann’s leadoff double. McMahon fouled off seven pitches in that epic at-bat, including five straight, before lining a double to right for the frame’s second of seven Yankee hits. The frame’s productive at-bats and timely hitting provided New York with a lead that Rasmussen never recovered, as the Yankees seized momentum and momentum carried them to a convincing win.
The result represented a significant lift for a Yankees offense that had been stalling of late. Ben Rice’s two home runs underscored a resurgence that supplied the necessary punch for a team looking to stabilize its season and turn the page on a stretch of underachievement. With the series now split, New York could carry the positive momentum into timely offensives and continued bullpen versatility, which proved crucial in staving off Tampa Bay’s early-season dominance.
This recap reflects a notable rebound for the Yankees, who executed a balanced attack that mixed patient at-bats with timely aggression, turned familiar strengths into a dominant performance, and demonstrated that even after a slumping stretch, they could reassemble their offense around key contributors—such as Rice and McMahon—and execute in a pressure-packed environment against an elite opponent.