​Will Warren surrendered three home runs as the Yankees fell 6-4 to the Rays on Tuesday night, with New York’s hitters striking out 17 times. Through the first two games of the series, the Yankees have fanned 34 times, marking a franchise record for a two-game stretch. The defeat wipes out Monday’s series-opening victory and leaves New York at 50-41, four games back of Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.
Warren started smoothly but ran into trouble in the second inning. After a one-out homer by Victor Mesa Jr. wrapped around the right field foul pole, Warren allowed a single, a walk and another single with two outs, enabling Tampa Bay to grab a 2-0 lead. The Rays added to the damage in the fourth, as Richie Palacios delivered an RBI double before No. 9 hitter Hunter Feduccia crushed a two-run homer to push the lead to 5-3. Yandy Díaz followed with a solo shot, giving the Rays a commanding edge. Warren ended his night after four innings, throwing 75 pitches (48 strikes) and yielding six runs on seven hits with two walks, while striking out three. Three of the seven hits left the yard.
The Yankees’ bats struggled mightily, though a key moment came in the sixth when Cody Bellinger singled and Max Scherzer? Schuemann advanced from first to third on the play, but Bellinger got hung up between first and second for the second out. Jose Caballero then struck out to strand the runner at third. In the seventh, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and pinch-hitter Jasson Dominguez lined back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners with no outs. Ali Sanchez lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in a run, and Trent Grisham flew out while Paul Goldschmidt struck out—Dominguez had reached third on a two-base error on a pickoff attempt—ending the threat.
Ben Rice, who announced his participation in this year’s Home Run Derby, gave the Yankees the lead in the third with a three-run shot opposite field. His 26 homers tie him with Junior Caminero for second in the American League, and Rice went 3-for-4 on the night. Caballero started at shortstop for the second consecutive game but went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
The Yankees’ bullpen kept the game within reach, as Tim Hill, Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick combined for four innings of one-hit, one-walk relief. Rays left-hander Seymour, despite allowing a three-run homer to Rice, worked 5.1 innings and struck out 12, giving up five hits and four runs.
The two teams will meet again in a four-game series finale on Wednesday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 PM. Gerrit Cole (3-3, 4.01 ERA) is slated to start for New York against Shane McClanahan (7-5, 3.05 ERA) for Tampa Bay.