2. RHP Michael King, who followed Nelson in the second inning, issued a trio of free passes but battled through ultimately three scoreless frames. King (0-0, 0.00 ERA) kept the Rays within striking distance with a commendable effort, fanning four and yielding two hits.
3. While the Yankees' continued to throw up a goose egg -- struggling against Rays RHP Michael Wacha (1-1, 4.20 ERA), who entered the game with a 7.00 ERA -- the floodgates opened in a four-run fifth inning. Yankees RHP Luis Cessa lasted through the frame, but not before a combination of walks, hits and errors gifted the Rays a 6-0 lead entering the bottom half.
Cessa (0-0, 1.17 ERA) allowed four runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out a pair but walking as many -- consecutively, loading the bases with two outs. Arozarena grounded a ball to 2B Rougned Odor, whose throw to 1B DJ LeMahieu went wide left as the Rays tacked on two more runs.
4. Wacha threw a one-hitter against the Yankees, striking out nine and walking two in six innings. The lone knock was a second-inning, one-out single to center by Urshela.
5. A pitching change in the seventh inning allowed the Yankees to see a different look with RHP Trevor Richards, and the likes of SS Gleyber Torres and DH Giancarlo Stanton took advantage. After Torres' leadoff single to right, Stanton served up a home run to right-center.
The opposite-field shot, Stanton's second of 2021, went 398 feet at 112.4 mph but hardly put a dent in an 8-2 Rays lead. Urshela (groundout), CF Aaron Hicks (lineout) and C Gary Sanchez (strikeout) went down in order after Stanton's long ball.
Highlights
