Monday, 4 a.m.
The Tampa Bay Rays finally rang up the scoreboard Sunday afternoon. Still, they had to hang on to win,
The Rays led 7-2 after seven innings Sunday, the most runs they’ve scored in their last 10 games. Alas, they had to hang on by their fingernails to win a 7-5 victory over the New York Yankees.
Closer Pete Fairbanks struck out the side in the ninth inning — getting Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger to preserve the win. It was Fairbanks’ eighth save of the season.
Taylor Walls had four hits for the Ray. Jonathan Aranda, Travis Jankowski and Yandy Diaz had three hits. Brandon Lowe and Chandler Simpson had two hits.
Aranda drove in three runs, including a 409-foot home run.
The Rays struggled to get runners home. They left 16 men on base. They were four-for-15 with runners in scoring position. They struck out 12 times.
Taj Bradley (3-2) got the win for the Rays. He allowed just four hits in 5 1/3 innings.
The Rays are off today, They play Philadelphia on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Drew Rasmussen will start for the Rays against Zack Wheeler.