The New York Yankees (51-42) defeated the Tampa Bay Rays (54-37) 12-4 on Thursday afternoon at Tropicana Field. With the win, the Rays and Yankees have split the four-game series and the Rays remain four games atop the AL East, ahead of New York for first place.
Junior Caminero hit a solo home run in the first inning to get the scoring started for Tampa Bay, his 27th home run of the season. The Rays had a huge answer in the form of a six-run third inning, which included a two-run homer from Ben Rice, which made it 6-1.
The Rays got two in the bottom of the third to pull within 6-3, but New York scored one in the fourth and three in the sixth to make it 10-4. They added single runs in the seventh and eighth inning to make it a 12-4 blowout win.
Drew Rasmussen (7-5, 3.26) allowed six earned runs on seven hits in the loss, pitching just two and one-third innings in which he struck out two and walked none.
The Rays now host the Seattle Mariners in the final series before the All-Star Break coming up this weekend. The three-game series begins on Friday night - first pitch from Tropicana Field is scheduled for 7:10 PM. Pregame coverage begins with Inside Pitch at 6:00 PM on 95.7 WDAE & AM 620, your Home of Rays Baseball.
COVER PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES