Monday, 4 a.m.
Say this for Jonathan Aranda.
The kid looks good with a bubblegum bucket on his head.
Aranda and the Rays showed a bit of life Saturday evening, coming from behind to take a 10-8 victory over the New York Yankees. For the Rays, it snapped a four-game losing streak when the offense disappeared.
But, trailing 8-4 in the ninth inning, the Rays rallied to take the win.
— Consider the bottom of the ninth, when Brandon Lowe had a two-out single to tie the game. Rookie Chandler Simpson had his first MLB hit in the inning, a double to drive in one run. He scored another one himself.
— Consider the top of the 10th. The Yankees had runners on first and third with no one out. But Edwin Uceta struck out two and coaxed a fly to right to shut down the Yankees.
— Consider the bottom of the 10th. On the third pitch from Yoendrys Gomez, Aranda homered to right to win the game.
Aranda, hitting .367, drove the ball 365 feet for his fourth homer of the year. Then it was a typical walk-off celebration, complete with Gatorade baths and bubblegum helmets.
For much of the day, it looked as if the Yankees were going to steamroll the Rays again. They beat up on Shane Baz (five runs in 3 1/3 innings) to take a 6-1 lead.
The Rays scored three times in the fourth, including a two-run single by Ben Rortvedt.
The Yankees scored twice in the ninth off Rays’ closer Pete Fairbanks to increase the lead to 8-4.
Uceta got the win for the Rays with his impressive 10th inning.
The Rays and Yankees conclude their series today at 1:40 p.m. at Steinbrenner Field. Ryan Pepiot will start for the Rays against Max Fried.