Sunday, 3 a.m.
Pity the poor, bedraggled New York Yankees. Try as they might, they can't hit anyone with their wallets.
There is an air of superiority to the Yankees, supposedly the best team that money can buy. They are the elite, the well-paid, the celebrities of the modern game.
And they keep taking it on the nose against the miserly Tampa Bay Rays.
The Rays, off to a mediocre start in what looks to be a perfectly ordinary season, continued to hold the deeds to the Yankees. They beat New York 6-3
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Saturday, marking their fourth win in five attempts. In their last two regular seasons, the Rays are 12-3 against the high-paid, low-achievement team from New York.
The Yankees, whose salaries add up to almost $218 million this year, have managed eight hits in their last two games against Tampa Bay. That's triple the $71 million paid to the Rays.
“They’ve been uber focused," Rays' manager Kevin Cash said of his team. "This venue can motivate you really quickly. Whatever you'’e going through when you get here, you'd better find a way to wipe it out. You’ve got to stay at the top of your game to compete here. We’re playing against a really good team and everything matters, everything counts. Every play leads to something else."
The Rays managed to win Saturday despite a stumbling start by ace pitcher Tyler Glasnow, who was wild early and suffered a hand cramp late. But he still struck out seven on his way to his second win of the year (no losses). Glasnow had walked only three batters the entire season, but he walked three and gave up two hits in the first two innings.
“I would say that whole start was a grind," said Glasnow, who used the words "weird" and "sluggish" to define his outing. "Out of like 30-whatever starts a year, you’re going to have some like that. This one from start to finish was pretty taxing.
In the fifth inning, Glasnow suffered cramps in his glove hand. “My left hand, my calf and my quad started to cramp up a little. They brought me water. Willy (Adames) brought me Gatorade and water. It was fine."
The Rays got home runs from Francisco Mejia, Manuel Margot and Joey Wendle in the victory.
The bullpen was good again, with Diego Castillo picking up his fourth save.
The Rays go for a sweep against the Yankees today in Yankee Stadium at 1:05 p.m. Gerrit Cole starts for New York against Andrew Kittredge of the Rays.