Thursday, May 14, 2015

Recap: Rays 6, Yankees 1

Chase Whitley left with an apparent injury and the Yankees dropped their third consecutive to the Rays, 6-1, on Thursday night at Tropicana Field.

Whitley Goes Down: The youngster surrendered a run and two walks through 1 2/3 innings, putting runners on the corners before exiting with discomfort in his elbow. Whitley is scheduled to have an MRI on Friday, and will be replaced by Chris Capuano in the rotation for the time being.

Rogers Struggles Again: Looking to escape trouble following Whitley's removal, the Yankees called upon Esmil Rogers to face Rene Rivera -- a matchup that seemed to favor the Yanks considering Rivera's sub-.150 batting average. The Rays catcher drilled the first pitch he saw over the center-field wall, however, extending the hosts' advantage to 4-0 and essentially dooming New York on the evening.

Feels Like April: The Yankees' offense got a single from Jacoby Ellsbury in the first, but when the team needed them most in the contest's middle stages, they simply failed to deliver. Indeed, not one Yankee logged a hit from innings 2-5 -- the club's only run coming on an Alex Rodriguez solo shot in the ninth.

Pirela Having Issues: Jose Pirela went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, raising his K total to four in the series. He's still solidly hitting .294 overall, but the infielder has certainly floundered this week.

What's Happening?: The Yankees had won 17 of their last 23 prior to this set, going 5-1 against the Rays during that stretch. They last three of four in this trip to St. Petersburg, though, shortening their lead for first in the AL East to just one game.

Next Up: The Yankees will try to bounce back from this disappointment on Friday when they visit the Royals in Kansas City, beginning at 8:10 p.m. ET and airing live on PIX 11. Michael Pineda (5-0, 2.72 ERA) will take the mound for the Pinstripes hoping for a third straight quality start, opposing breakout Royals right-hander Chris Young (2-0, 0.78 ERA).

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)