Rays sweep Yankees
The Tampa Bay Rays completed their first three‑game sweep of the New York Yankees since 2021, closing the series with a decisive win. (x.com) Social coverage highlighted the sweep as a notable midseason momentum moment between the clubs. (x.com)
Tampa Bay finished a three-game sweep of New York on Sunday, beating the Yankees 5-4 for its first sweep of the rivalry since 2021. (espn.com) The finale at Tropicana Field turned on Drew Rasmussen’s six scoreless innings. He allowed one hit, struck out seven, and did not issue a walk in his first outing back after leaving for the birth of his daughter. (espn.com) The Rays won the opener 5-3 on Friday, then took Saturday 5-4 in 10 innings before closing the sweep with another 5-4 win on Sunday. Friday’s game drew 20,511 fans, Saturday’s drew 21,620, and Sunday’s drew 20,796. (espn.com) (baseball-reference.com) (espn.com) Sunday pushed Tampa Bay to 8-7, the club’s first record above.500 this season. It also dropped New York to 8-7 and extended the Yankees’ losing streak to five games. (espn.com) The series tightened the American League East early. After Sunday’s games, the Rays, Yankees, and Baltimore Orioles were all 8-7, while the Toronto Blue Jays were 6-9 and the Boston Red Sox were 6-9. (espn.com) Tampa Bay got production from speed and contact as much as power. Chandler Simpson went 3 for 4 on Sunday, scored twice, stole his seventh base, and had reached base in all 15 Rays games this season. (espn.com) Saturday’s game swung on small-ball in the 10th inning. Taylor Walls and Jonathan Aranda each produced run-scoring infield grounders as Tampa Bay answered José Caballero’s go-ahead hit and walked it off 5-4. (espn.com) The Yankees still had chances late in the finale. Aaron Judge hit a 415-foot, two-run homer in the ninth, but Mason Englert got the final three outs for his first save, and New York fell to 0-6 in one-run games. (espn.com) Friday set the tone for the weekend. Steven Matz settled in after a rough first inning, and Tampa Bay erased an early 2-0 deficit on its way to the 5-3 opener. (espn.com) The Yankees left St. Petersburg with a home series against the Los Angeles Angels next on Monday, while the Rays headed to Chicago to start a set against the White Sox on Tuesday. The sweep ended with Tampa Bay moving up and New York trying to stop a skid that had reached five straight. (espn.com)
