Yankees blanked for 2nd straight game, lose to Rays 4-0
NEW YORK — The slumping New York Yankees were shut out in consecutive games for the first time since 2016, losing to Ryan Yarbrough and the Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 on Monday night.
Coming off a 3-0 defeat Sunday night against the Boston Red Sox, New York failed to provide any run support for ace Gerrit Cole, whose only run allowed followed a misplay in center field by Aaron Hicks.
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“Obviously we gotta play better, we gotta do better than that,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
The AL East leaders were blanked for the fourth time in nine games and dropped to 8-16 since the All-Star break after a 64-28 start.
Yarbrough (1-7) pitched four innings as a bulk reliever for his first win in nearly a year, striking out six without a walk. He previously won Sept. 24, 2021 and had lost eight straight decisions over 14 appearances, matching the franchise record.
“It was nice,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I think Yarbs has pitched really well here as of late. He probably deserves a little bit better in the win-loss column, but he’s contributing in a big way.”
The Yankees hadn’t been held without a run in back-to-back games since Sept. 22-24, 2016, when they were blanked once by the Rays and twice by the Toronto Blue Jays.
“Right now we gotta do better and it’s hard right now,” Boone said. “It’s hard and we gotta find a way. We gotta keep digging ourselves out of this.”
Hicks got turned around on the warning track and couldn’t field David Peralta’s flyball in the fourth inning, resulting in a triple. Isaac Paredes then singled off Cole (9-5) for a 1-0 lead, enough to get the Rays on their way to a third straight victory.
“First off, I turned the wrong way,” Hicks said. “I tried to recover. I ended up thinking it was still right on top of me and it ended up being behind me.”
Tampa Bay added three runs in the ninth on Jose Siri’s RBI single and Yandy Díaz’s two-run single.
Cole allowed one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out six, walked two and allowed one run or less for the 11th time this season.
Hicks batted with the bases loaded in the fourth but hit a soft comebacker to Yarbrough, who started a 1-2-3 double play
After Yarbrough’s 58-pitch outing, Ryan Thompson got the next five outs, getting Aaron Judge on a double play in the eighth. Brooks Raley fanned Anthony Rizzo before the Rays added on, and Jason Adam pitched the ninth.
RIZZO’S FRUSTRATION: Rizzo thought he was grazed on the right leg in the third, but plate umpire D.J. Reyburn ruled he leaned into the pitch. Rizzo and manager Aaron Boone vehemently argued to no avail.
“It shouldn’t have been called tonight,” Rizzo said. “I have been hit by a lot of pitches and it’s never been called.”
After striking out on the next pitch, Rizzo slammed his helmet in the dugout five times.
“Whenever you feel like you got screwed over on a call anytime it’s annoying because we’re out here competing at the highest level and I’m up here talking to you guys (media),” Rizzo said. “And I feel like the umpires have zero accountability when they miss something like that. I know they’re not trying to miss, but it’s just frustrating.
Rizzo has been hit by a pitch 17 times, tied for the AL lead with Seattle’s Ty France.
Contreras, Rosario, Acuña lead Braves’ blowout win over Mets
ATLANTA (AP) — William Contreras and Eddie Rosario hit back-to-back homers off Carlos Carrasco in the second inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled three times and drove in three runs, and the Atlanta Braves routed the New York Mets 13-1 Monday night for their seventh straight win.
The second-place Braves moved within 4 1/2 games of New York for the NL East lead and put a brief halt to a hot streak in which the Mets had won 17 out of 20.
“We won the first game against the Mets in this series,” Acuña said through a translator. “Tomorrow we’re going to come with the same energy and take that one as well.”
Carrasco (13-5) allowed three runs in two innings, and his outing was interrupted by a 55-minute rain delay in the second inning. He returned after the break to get the final out of the inning, but he winced on his last pitch and was pulled with left side tightness.
“We’re just going to wait to see how I feel tomorrow and go from there,” Carrasco said.
“This is my first time that I’ve felt something like this. It just happened on the last pitch of the game.”
New York had allowed two runs or fewer in eight straight games to tie a franchise record set in 1969. Contreras’ homer ended the Mets’ streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings.
The Braves, who improved to 48-19 since June 1, sent 12 batters to the plate and blew the game open with an eight-run sixth on Michael Harris II’s single, Acuña’s double, Dansby Swanson’s two-run single, Matt Olson’s single and Travis d’Arnaud’s three-run homer.
