Just Not Good Enough: Yankees Stymie The Rays Again

For a team that is among the American League leaders in runs scored, the Tampa Bay Rays sure have issues putting men across the plate consistently. The Rays hitters were mystified yet again—this time by Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain—in route to a 6-2 loss in the rubber match of their series in Tropicana Field.

With the victory, the Yankees took the series and put the Rays further back in the American League East race.

Through the first eight innings of the game, the Rays managed only five men on base and struck out five times.

Matt Garza pitched well for Tampa Bay, going seven innings and allowing only three earned runs, but when you get no run support (or hit support for that matter), you can't win.

The Yankees jumped on Garza early, with Derek Jeter getting a triple that bounced around in right field in the first. Mark Teixeira would single to right to score Jeter and stake the Yankees to a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, Robinson Cano sacrificed home A-Rod to extend the advantage to 2-0. Cano would get his second RBI of the game when he launched a solo shot to right-center field.

Jorge Posada's RBI single in the eighth inning gave New York a 4-0 lead. With the Tampa Bay bats unable to hit Chamberlain, it might as well have been 10-0.

Even so, Melky Cabrera and Teixeira added solo shots in the ninth to give the Yankees more of a cushion at 6-0.

Bryan Bruney came on in the ninth to lock down the game for New York, but was greeted by Carl Crawford's triple to start the inning. He then gave up a two-run shot to Evan Longoria to cut the Yankees advantage to 6-2.

After retiring Zobrist, Carlos Pena doubled to right-center field and Bruney was done. In came the legendary closer Mariano Rivera. Rivera struck out the cash-stealing Pat Burrell on three pitches. Gabe Gross drew a walk but Michel Hernandez chased a pitch out of the zone to strikeout.

After dropping two out of three to Evil Empire, the Rays now find themselves hopelessly behind by 7 1/2 games. Defending their AL East crown seems unlikely. Luckily for them, the injuries to Red Sox line up have kept Tampa Bay at least in striking distance of Boston in the AL Wild Card race.

Unlike last season, the Rays are a baseball team in desperate need for an infusion of new talent that may give them a spark. The Yankees have obviously surpassed them but there's still an opportunity for Tampa Bay to make a move on the Red Sox.

If, as I wrote in my trade deadline Rays preview, Tampa Bay sits on their hands and does nothing to improve the big club, it may be a signal that they are raising the white flag for 2009.