New York Yankees lost a tough, close one to the Tampa Bay RaysNew

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.  The game took place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida and the final score was 5-4.  Luis Severino started for the Yankees and he pitched well but the bullpen didn’t.  Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Holliday and Starlin Castro each had two hits to pace the offense. 

Severino pitched five innings giving up five hits and a run.  He walked three and struck out seven.  Jonathan Holder pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two, Adam Warren pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and three runs with a strikeout and Chasen Shreve pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit.  Tyler Clippard lost his second game of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit and a run with two walks and three strikeouts. 

Erasmo Ramirez started for the Rays and he pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up six hits and two runs with a walk and five strikeouts.  Diego Moreno pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings with a strikeout, Jose Alvarado pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a run and a walk and Ryne Stanek pitched giving up two hits and a run without recording an out.  Danny Farquhar pitched to two batters and retired them both and earned his second win of the season and Alex Colome pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and earned his 11^th save of the season. 

Brett Gardner had a hit and drew two walks, Ellsbury had two hits and an RBI and Holliday and two hits and two RBI.  Castro had two hits and an RBI, Aaron Judge had a hit and Holliday and Ellsbury each hit a double and Holliday hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 3-9 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. 

Corey Dickerson had two hits, Kevin Kiermaier had a hit and drew a walk and Evan Longoria had four hits and an RBI.  Logan Morrison had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk, Steven Souza Jr. drew two walks and Rickie Weeks Jr. had a hit and two RBI.  Tim Beckham had a hit, Daniel Robertson had a hit and Derek Nnorris drew a walk.  Morrison, Longoria, Robertson and Weeks Jr. each hit a double.  The Rays were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  Longoria had a stolen base and commited an error. 

In the first Castro hit an RBI ground out to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the first Morrison hit an RBI double to tie the game at one.  In the third Ellsbury hit an RBI double giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead.  In the bottom of the seventh Morrison hit a sac fly to tie the game at two.  Weeks Jr. hit a two-run double to give the Rays a 4-2 lead.  In the eighth Holliday hit a two-run homerun to tie the game at four.  In the bottom of the eighth Longoria hit an RBI single giving the Rays a 5-4 lead and that is how the game would end. 

The two teams will play game two of three on Saturday afternoon. 

New York Yankees lose to the Rays as Masahiro Tanaka just doesn't have it

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon.  The game took place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida and the final score was 7-3.  Masahiro Tanaka started for the Yankees and he wasn’t good at all.  The Yankees bullpen was really good and Chase Headley and Starlin Castro led the offense with three hits each. 

Tanaka pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and seven runs with two walks and three strikeouts.  Tanaka took the loss.  Tommy Layne pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two, Adam Warren pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up no hits or runs and he struck out two and Jonathan Holder pitched an inning giving up two hits and he struck out two.  Chasen Shreve pitched an inning giving up two hits and a walk and he struck out one. 

Chris Archer started for the Rays and he pitched seven innings giving up seven hits and two runs with a walk and five strikeouts.  Archer picked up the win.  Danny Farquhar pitched a perfect inning with a  couple of strikeouts, Austin Pruitt pitched giving up two hits and a run without recording an out and Alex Colome pitched an inning striking out one and picking up the save. 

Brett Gardner had a hit, Chris Carter had an RBI and Greg Bird drew a walk.  Castro had three hits, Headley had three hits and Aaron Judge had a hit and an RBI.  Ronald Torreyes had an RBI and Aaron Hicks had a hit.  Judge hit a double and the Yankees were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Sanchez committed an error. 

Corey Dickerson had a hit, Kevin Kiermaier had two hits and drew two walks and Evan Longoria had two hits and three RBI.  Brad Miller had two hits, Steven Souza Jr. drew a walk and Logan Morrison had three hits and three RBI.  Tim Beckham had a hit, Mallex Smith had a hit and Derek Norris had a hit.  Kiermaier and Beckham each hit a double and Longoria and Morrison each hit a homerun.  The Rays were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Kermaier had a stolen base, Longoria committed an error. 

In the first Longoria hit a sac fly to give the Rays a 1-0 lead.  Morrison hit a two-run single and the lead was pushed to 3-0 still in the first.  In the second Judge hit an RBI double and Torreyes hit an RBI ground out to cut the lead to 3-2.  In the bottom of the second Longoria hit a two-run homerun to increase the Rays lead to 5-2.  In the third Morrison hit a solo homerun and Smith hit an RBI single and the lead was 7-2 Rays.  In the ninth Carter hit a sac fly to cut the lead to 7-3 but that would be the final score. 

The Yankees had plenty of chances especially late but they couldn’t capitalize.  The bottom line in this game though was that Tanaka just didn’t have anything.  His stuff was off but so was his command.  It is one game and you have to just shake it off and move on.  If you are going to worry about Tanaka that is crazy and if he is bad this year the Yankees have no shot.  The two teams will be off on Monday and then resume the opening three game series on Tuesday night.  It will be CC Sabathia matching up against Jake Odorizzi. 

The New York Mets keep rolling with a victory in Tampa Bay

The New York Mets defeated the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.  The game took place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida and the final score was 4-3 Mets.  Jacob deGrom started for the Mets and pitched well and the bullpen was pretty good.  Daniel Murphy and Wilmer Flores led the offense with two hits each. 

deGrom pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up six hits and two runs with no walks and seven strikeouts.  Eric O'Flaherty pitched to one batter and retired him, Bobby Parnell pitched 1/3 of an inning with a walk and Tyler Clippard won his second game of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.  Jeurys Familia pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one and earned his 30th save of the season. 

Jake Odorizzi pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up four hits and a run with a walk and six strikeouts.  Steve Geltz pitched to one batter and retired him, Jake McGee pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.  Brad Boxberger pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two unearned runs and Alex  Colome pitched to one batter and struck him out.   

Murphy had two hits and an RBI, Juan Uribe had a hit and an RBI and Michael Conforto had a hit and an RBI.  Travis d'Arnaud had a hit and drew a walk, Kelly Johnson had a hit and Flores had two hits and an RBI.  Conforto hit a double and Uribe and Murphy each hit a homerun.  The Mets were 3-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

Grady Sizemore had a hit and an RBI, Evan Longoria had two hits and an RBI and James Loney had two hits and an RBI.  Asdrubal Cabrera had two hits, Kevin Kiermaier had a hit and Curt Casali drew a walk.  Loney and Cabrera each hit a double and Sizemore, Loney and Longoria each hit a homerun.  The Rays were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Boxberger committed an error. 

In the fourth Sizemore hit a solo homerun to give the Rays a 1-0 lead.  In the seventh Uribe hit a solo homerun to tie the game at one.  Loney answered back with a solo homerun in the bottom of the seventh to give the Rays a 2-1 lead.  In the eighth Murphy hit a solo homerun to tie the game at two.  Longoria hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the eighth to give the Rays a 3-2 lead.  In the ninth Conforto hit an RBI double to tie the game at three and Flores hit an RBI single to give them a 4-3 lead which would be the final score.  The two teams will play game two of three on Saturday afternoon. 

The New York Yankees fail to sweep the Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday afternoon.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 3-2 in 13 innings.  Michael Pineda started and pitched well, the bullpen was really good.  The Yankees got two solo homeruns as their whole offense. 

Pineda pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up six hits and two runs with no walks and five strikeouts.  Justin Wilson pitched to one batter and retired him, David Carpenter pitched a perfect inning and Dellin Betances pitched an inning striking out two.  Andrew Miller pitched two innings striking out three, Chris Martin pitched an inning walking one and striking out two and Chase Shreve lost his first game of the season.  Shreve pitched two innings giving up a hit and a run with three walks and a strikeout. 

Drew Smyly pitched six innings giving up four hits and two runs with a walk and ten strikeouts.  Steve Geltz pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings with five strikeouts, Kevin Jepsen pitched to four batters and retired them all and Brad Boxberger pitched an inning giving up a hit and walking two.  Brandon Gomes won his first game pitching two innings giving up a hit and struck out one.  Ernesto Frieri pitched an inning giving up a hit and he saved his second game of the season. 

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, Chris Young had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Carlos Beltran had a hit.  Chase Headley had a hit and an RBI, John Ryan Murphy drew a walk and Stephen Drew had a walk.  Headley and Young each hit a homerun adn the Yankees were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Ellsbury had a stolen base and was picked off.  Headley committed an error and Murphy had a passed ball. 

Steven Souza Jr. drw a walk, Asdrubal Cabrera drew a walk and Evan Longoria had a hit and drew a walk.  James Loney had two hits and an RBI, Logan Forsythe had two hits and Kevin Kiermaier had two hits, an two RBI with a walk.  Forsythe hit a double and Kiermaier hit a tirple and the Rays were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Smyly had a pickoff. 

In the fourth Kiermaier hit a two run triple giving the Rays a 2-0 lead.  In the bottom of the fifth Headley hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 2-1.  In the bottom of the sixth Young hit a solo homerun to tie the game at two.  In the thirteenth Loney hit an RBI single to give the Rays a 3-2 lead and that was the final score. 

The Yankees won two out of three for their fourth straight series win and they will have the day off on Thursday.  The Yankees will begin a three game series Friday night in Boston.   

The New York Yankees lose to the Tampa Bay Rays as CC struggles

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 5-1.  CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and wasn't very good.  Alfredo Aceves pitched in long relief and was excellent.  Brett Gardner had a couple of hits. 

Sabathia pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up ten hits and five runs.  He walked one and struck out three and lost his fourth game of the season.  Aceves pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up three hits and no runs with five strikeouts. 

Erick Bedard won his first game of the season by pitching six innings.  He gave up six hits and a run with a walk and three strikeouts.  Jake McGee pitched an inning giving up a hit, Joel Peralta pitched an inning with a strikeout and Grant Balfour pitched an inning giving up a walk. 

Mark Teixeira had a hit, Alfonso Soriano had a hit and drew a walk and Kelly Johnson had a hit.  Yangervis Solarte had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Gardner had two hits and John Ryan Murphy had a hit.  Soriano and Johnson each hit a double and the Yankees were 0-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. 

Logan Forsythe had two hits, Desmond Jennings had three hits and Evan Longoria had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Wil Myers had two hits and four RBI, Sean Rodriguez had a hit and Yunel Escobar had two hits.  Brandon Guyer had two hits, Forsythe, Longoria, Jennings and Myers each hit a double.  Myers hit a homerun and the Rays were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. 

Longoria hit an RBI double in the first to give the Rays a 1-0 lead.   In the second Solarte hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one.  Myers hit a three run inside the park homerun in the third inning that gave the Rays a 4-1 lead.  In the fourth Myers hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 5-1 and that would be the final score. 

The Rays took two out of three in the weekend series.  The Yankees finished their homestand at 3-5 and will head to the road on Monday night.  They will be in Anaheim, California to take on the Anaheim Angels in a three game series. 

The New York Yankees bounce back with a big win over the Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday afternoon.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 9-3.  Masahiro Tanaka was good, not great and the bullpen was good.  Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and Mark Teixeira had three RBI. 

Tanaka pitched seven innings giving up three runs and eight hits.  He didn't walk a batter and struck out five and earned his fourth win of the season.  Dellin Betances pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out two and Preston Claiborne pitched an inning striking out one. 

Jake Odorizzi pitched four innings giving up five hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts.  Cesar Ramos pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out two, Josh Lueke took his second loss of the season pitching two innings and gave up four hits and three runs.  Heath Bell pitched an inning giving up three hits and three runs with a walk. 

Ellsbury had three hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Brett Gardner had two hits and two RBI and Teixeira had two hits and three RBI.  Brian McCann had a hit, Alfonso Soriano had an RBI and Kelly Johnson had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Brian Roberts had a hit, Ichiro Suzuki had two hits and an RBI and Yangervis Solarte drew a walk.  McCann and Ellsbury each hit a double and Suzuki hit two doubles.  Teixeira  and Johnson each hit a homerun and the Yankees were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Ellsbury had a stolen base. 

Desmond Jennings had a hit and an RBI, Matt Joyce had a hit and James Loney had three hits.  Wil Myers had a hit and an RBI, David DeJesus had two hits and Ryan Hanigan had a hit and an RBI.  Loney hit a double and Jennings and Myers each hit a homerun.  The Rays were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

In the first Jennings hit a solo homerun to give the Rays a 1-0 lead.  Hanigan hit an RBI single in the second to extend the Rays lead to 2-0.  The Rays took a 3-0 lead in the fourth on a Myers solo homerun.  Teixeira hit a two run homerun in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2.  In the fifth Ellsbury hit an RBI double to tie the game at three.  In the sixth Johnson hit a solo homerun giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead.  Teixeira hit an RBI single and Soriano hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.  It was 6-3 Yankees and in the eighth Suzuki hit an RBI double and Gardner hit a two run single to make it a 9-3 game and that was the final score. 

The two teams have split the first two games and rubber game of the series is on Sunday afternoon.   

The New York Yankees lose big in Tampa then lose Ivan Nova to injury

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night.  The game took place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida and the final score was 16-1.  Ivan Nova started and pitched very poorly and then left with an injury.  Matt Daley who was just called up from AAA made his season debut and pitched poorly also.  It got so bad for the Yankees that backup shortstop Dean Anna had to pitch.  Kelly Johnson drove in the only run of the game for the Yankees. 

Nova pitched four innings giving up eight hits and eight runs.  He walked one and struck out four and suffered his second loss of the season.  The bigger loss is that he is hurt now and the Yankees wait word on how bad and how long he will be out for.  Daley pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up five hits and six runs with four of them being earned.  He walked two guys, Dellin Betances pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up no hits and no runs with two walks and three strikeouts and Anna pitched an inning giving up three hits and two runs.  It was the first time Anna ever pitched in a game. 

Chris Archer won his second game of the season pitching 6 2/3 innings giving up three hits and one run with four strikeouts.  Riefenhauser pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings and Lueke pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. 

Jacoby Ellsbury, Alfonso Soriano and Kelly Johnson had the only hits for the Yankees.  Johnson had the only RBI and the Yankees were 0-1 with runners in scoring position and left one man on base.  Ellsbury was caught stealing and Yangervis Solarte committed an error. 

Ben Zobrist had three hits, Matt Joyce had two hits and drew a walk and Evan Longoria had two hits and four RBI.  James Loney had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Wil Myers had three hits, four RBI and drew a walk and Yunel Escobar had a hit and drew a walk.  Ryan Hanigan had three hits, six RBI and drew a walk.  Joyce, Zobrist, Loney and Myers each hit a double and Myers also hit a homerun.  Longoria hit a homerun and Hanigan hit two homeruns.  The Rays were 5-11 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

The Rays scored runs in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth.  The Yankees only run came in the fifth inning.  This one quickly got out of hand for the Yankees.  The two teams will play their fourth and final game of the series on Sunday afternoon.  The Yankees will look to split the series and the Rays to take three out of four.   

New York Yankees notes as exhibition games begin

Kelly Johnson played third base briefly for the Yankees on Tuesday.  He is getting acclimated there

but in reality it was last year when he was thrown into the fire.  He never played there but then he

was becoming Evan Longoria back-up.  This is what Johnson said "They just said, Hey lets go out and

get some early stuff and see how you look over there."  "I played that day, and I played like a week

straight .

Just whenever Longoria needed something, a day off or a DH day."  He went on to say that as an

infielder in the big leagues you kind of know and have an eye on other positions.  He said the one

thing that stood out to him about third base was you don't have as much time to throw over to first.

He said at second your mechanics don't have to be perfect but at third they do because you have

less time. Johnson said that Mick Kelleher, Willie Randolph and minor league coach Jody Reed have

all been helping him at third.  Yankees camp is light on true third baseman so he fits in but he said

he had one of the best teachers last year in Longoria.  I would agree with him on that one, he is one

of the best players in the league. 

Alfonso Soriano was able to hit and workout in the morning.  He said that he was feeling much

better according to Chad Jennings of the Journal News.  Ozzie Smith has teamed up with Budweiser

to try and make Opening Day a national holiday.  They need 100,000 signatures in 30 days and then

it will be brought to Washington D.C. to try and make it a law.  I think it is pretty cool and you

should check it out if you haven't already.   It is on MLB.com and budweiser.com.  The Yankees

played their first exhibition against major leaguers on Wednesday afternoon.  They played in

Bradenton against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Eduardo Nunez was the starting shortstop on Wednesday but was scratched with a stomach bug.  It

sounds like the Yankees have it going around as he is the second one to have it now.  Soriano was

the first and he is just starting to workout and feel better.  The Yankees decided to give Soriano five

days of workouts before putting him in a game.  He is only on day two so by the weekend he should

be ready to go.  Nova started on Wednesday and wasn't great but he wasn't horrible.  He already

has trust in his new catcher Brian McCann.  McCann went out to talk with him in the first inning and

let him know what he was seeing.  Nova said he listened and he told him I am not going to shake

you much as you have a plan and I trust you know what you are doing.  I think McCann will have a

huge impact on the Yankees both offensively and defensively.  Jose Ramirez who is a pitching

prospect is the latest spring training injury.  He felt his back tighten up warming up in the bullpen. 

There are no change of plans with Derek Jeter.  He is expected in the lineup on Thursday and to play

about five innings at shortstop.  Brian Cashman again shot down any thought of someone like

Stephen Drew.  He said we have spent our money and only things that are cost effective.  So either

a trade for infield help or a waiver claim, I tend to agree with this.  I don't think they are lying about

it.  I think if anything, they could make a trade but they could also do that at midseason if things

aren't working. 

Ellsbury reached base three times on Wednesday and didn't try to steal.  He stated that was

intentional. He said he does try and save them for the regular season.  Yangervis Solarte was the

standout of Wednesday.  He is a guy to keep an eye on as he may be able to help at third this

season.  They have Johnson and Nunez for there right now but Johnson is also the backup first

baseman and probably second also.  It isn't an ideal situation so someone else may have a chance to

open up eyes and get their shot in the infield.  Chase Whitley had a rough outing taking the loss and

being charged with all four runs in the seventh inning.  Dellin Betances pitched two scoreless innings

and had two strikeouts and no walks.  He is a guy who I think will make the team in the bullpen and

could have a big impact. 

The first televised game of the spring is on Thursday afternoon.  It is a 1:00PM start on YES and from

Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.  You should see most of the regulars for about half of the

game.  David Phelps gets the start in the game and Adam Warren will start on Friday.  The fifth

starter derby really starts to heat up. 

CC Sabathia lets one slip away as the New York Yankees fall to the Tampa Bay Rays

CC Sabathia lets one slip away as the New York Yankees fall to the Tampa Bay Rays


The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees on Saturday night. The final score was 4-2 and the game took place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. CC Sabathia started and pitched great through five innings. He ended up taking the loss though as he lost it in the sixth inning. Mark Reynolds was the only Yankees with more then a hit.

Sabathia pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up three runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Preston Claiborne pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with two strikeouts.

Ichiro Suzuki had an RBI, Robinson Cano had a hit and Alex Rodriguez had a hit. Vernon Wells had a hit, Curtis Granderson had a hit and Reynolds had two hits. Austin Romine drew a walk and had an RBI. Granderson hit a double and the Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Cano committed an error.

David Price pitched six innings giving up five hits and two runs. He walked one and struck out five. Jake McGee pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Joel Peralta pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect inning.

Desmond Jennings drew two walks, Ben Zobrist had a hit and two RBI and Evan Longoria had three hits and two RBI. Yunel Escobar had a hit, Sam Fuld had two hits and Longoria and Zobrist each hit a double. Longoria hit a homerun and the Rays were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Fuld had a stolen base.

In the fifth Romine had an RBI walk and Suzuki hit an RBI groundout to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. In the sixth the Rays scored three runs. Zobrist hit a two run double and Longoria hit an RBI single. The Rays had a 3-2 lead and added one more in the eighth. Longoria hit a solo homerun and the final score was 4-2 Rays.

The Yankees have now lost two straight after winning five straight. Their record dropped to 68-61. The Rays record improved to 74-53. The teams will play the final game of a three game series on Sunday afternoon. The Yankees will look to salvage the final game.

The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 7-6 in a wild game

The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa Bay this evening by the score of 7-6. It was a somewhat wild game especially early and late. CC Sabathia and James Shields started and neither pitched very well. Sabathia did pitch better after the first inning. The game ended with Mariano Rivera blowing a save and the Yankees having five infielders in the game. The game started with a first inning intentional walk to Sean Rodriguez to get to Carlos Pena who hit a grand slam. 
Sabathia pitched six innings giving up five runs on eight hits. He walked three and struck out seven. Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout, Dave Robertson pitched a scoreless inning with a hit, walk and three strikeouts. Robertson did his usual Houdini routine putting runners on the corners with no outs but getting out of it. Rivera took the loss and got charged with a blown save. He pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs with two walks although they were both intentional and a strikeout. Shields really struggled for Tampa Bay giving up six runs, nine hits and three walks in five innings. He did strike out three. The Rays used six pitchers out of their bullpen who combined for four innings of shutout baseball. That is really what won the Rays the game.

Derek Jeter had a hit and drew a walk, Robinson Cano had two hits and Alex Rodriguez had two hits and drew two walks. Mark Teixeira drew two walks, Nick Swisher had a hit and an RBI and Raul Ibanez had a hit and four RBI in his Yankees debut. Russell Martin drew a walk and Brett Gardner had two hits and drew a walk. Rodriguez had a double and Ibanez had a homerun. The Yankees were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 men on base. The Yankees had chances to extend their lead and didn’t. That is what really cost them this game. If they would have had another run or two of cushion at the end, they would of won the game. Evan Longoria had three hits and drew two walks with an RBI, Carlos Pena had three hits and five RBI. Ben Zobrist had a triple, Longoria and Pena each had a homerun. The Rays were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Longoria made an error.

In the first inning the Rays didn’t waste anytime scoring four runs with a Pena grand slam. Rodriguez was up before him and Joe Girardi elected to walk him to load the bases. I disagree with the move simply because it is the first inning of the first game of the season with your ace on the mound. I think they could of gone after Rodriguez and the whole game may have been different. The Yankees came back in the second and scored two runs. Rodriguez doubled and Teixeira was hit by a pitch. Swisher grounded out moving the runners to second and third with one out. Ibanez grounded out bringing in one run and Martin walked and a wild pitch by Shields scored the second run. Gardner singled and Jeter walked. The Yankees had the bases loaded but Curtis Granderson struck out swinging to end the inning. Granderson really struggled going 0-5 on the day. In the third inning Cano and Rodriguez singled to put runners at the corners with no outs. Teixeira popped out and Swisher reached on a fielders choice scoring a run. Ibanez hit a three run homerun and it was 6-4 Yankees. In the bottom of the third inning Longoria hit a solo homerun to make it a 6-5 game. It would stay this way until the ninth inning. In the fourth the Yankees had the bases loaded again with two outs but Ibanez grounded out sharply to short to end the inning. In the seventh inning the Yankees had the bases loaded with two outs again and Jeter grounded out to end the inning. In the eighth inning the Rays had runners on the corners and no outs and the next three batters struck out. In the ninth inning Desmond Jennings singled and Ben Zobrist hit an RBI triple to tie the game at six. The Yankees intentionally walked the next two guys to load the bases with no outs. Rodriguez struck out swinging and then Pena won the game with an RBI single.

The two teams played a nearly four hour game with a sold out crowd in attendance. I think most people pick these two as the top two teams in the AL East. They will play game two of their three game series on Saturday night. David Price and Hiroki Kuroda will be the starting pitchers. The Yankees expect to play Eduardo Nunez with the lefty on the mound, Andruw Jones may also play left field with Jeter or Rodriguez being the DH. This was a very strange game with 11 runs in the first three innings. Rivera blew a save, the Yankees intentionally walked Rodriguez to load the bases in the first inning. The Yankees also played five infielders at the end of the game. This was just game one of 162 should be an interesting season.

Welcome to Opening Day-New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays begin their 2012 season this afternoon at 3:10PM.  The Yankees will be live on the YES network, pregame coverage begins at 2.  Here are the pregame notes along with the lineups for both teams.  These are directly from the Yankees, the press notes. 

I will start with the lineups:Yankees:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner.  CC was 19-8 last year with a 3.00 ERA and he is on the mound. 

Rays Lineup:Desmond Jennings, Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, Jeff Keppinger, Sean Rodriguez, Carlos Pena, Elliot Johnson, Jose Molina, Matt Joyce.  James Shields is on the mound, he was 16-12 last season with a 2.82 ERA. 

Derek Jeter is making his 16th Opening Day start at shortstop which is a franchise record.  The previous record was held by Phil Rizzuto and it was 11.  The last shortstop with as many Opening Day starts at SS for any team was the Red Barry Larkin who made 17. 

Alex Rodriguez has played in seven Opening Days with the Yankees and hit safely in all of them.  He is 12-30 which is a 400 batting average with four doubles, two homeruns and nine RBI. 

The Yankees this spring were 18-12-3 which is a 600 winning percentage.  It is their best spring since 2009 when they were 24-10-1 and of course won the World Series.  I don't make much of spring training results or stats but those are the facts. 

In 1973 on this date Ron Blomberg became the major leagues first DH.  He went 1-3 with an RBI ast the Yankees lost to the Red Sox in Fenway Park 15-5.  He walked with the bases loaded in the first inning in his first plate appearance. 

On this date in 1974 the Yankees played their first home game at Shea Stadium.  Yankee Stadium began a two year remodeling.  They beat the Cleveland Indians 6-1 as Mel Stottlemyre pitched a complte game and gave up seven hits. 

Enjoy Opening Day everyone, comment here or follow me on twitter @gmarchesej.  I can also be found on Facebook.  I will talk to everyone later after the game with the postgame reactions. 

Yankees postgame Notes.

Here are some of the postgame notes from the Yankees game today. A.J. Burnett had a rough first inning, giving up 2 singles, 2 stolen bases a sac bunt and a walk. Pitching Coach Dave Eiland went out to the mound to talk to him and said "You have good stuff, we are still in the game. Continue to attack, don't pick, take charge." Burnett said he didn't think his stuff was that good today but that Eiland and Posada told him otherwise and he trusted them. It is only 2 games but Posada and Burnett have worked pretty well together so far which is a good thing. There was a weird play in the 6th inning when Evan Longoria hit a pop up which should of been the final out of the inning. It hit a catwalk though and was ruled a hit. Jorge Posada who is always outspoken had this to say "It's not a baseball stadium. You can't have balls going all over the place, it's sad." Posada said that Burnett threw 5 changeups today and he expects even more as he gets used to it. "It is a swing and miss pitch, it really is." Posada said. Burnett was asked if he wears his Marlins World Series ring and he said no, they said will you wear your Yankees one and he said "Absolutely." Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson are tied for the league lead in stolen bases with 3 each. They can certainly run and you will see that a lot this year when they are on base. The Yankees have a workout tomorrow at the stadium and then the welcome home dinner in the evening. They will receive their rings on Tuesday and raise the championship banner. Bernie Williams will throw out the first pitch and their will be a fly over. It will be a special day at the stadium and I will be there to cover it all. I can't wait to get there and provide you guys with some good coverage of the Opening Day festivities.