Adam Warren basically clinched the fifth spot in the Yankees' rotation, tossing 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball as the Yanks fell to the Rays, 6-5, Thursday in Port Charlotte.
Warren Good Again: Warren wasn't necessarily sharp during his fifth preseason outing, but did get the outs when he needed to. In all, he struck out five, walked one and gave up four hits on the day -- limiting the Rays to an Evan Longoria solo shot in the second.
Big Hits From the Usual Guys: Yankees outfielder Slade Heathcott cracked a run-scoring double in the second off Jordan Norberto -- plating the first run of the game following a walk to Rob Refsnyder. Ramon Flores also added to his RBI total with a two-run double off Kevin Jepsen in the fourth -- putting the Yankees up 3-1 at the time.
Ramirez Struggles: Jose Ramirez's rough spring continued when he surrendered two in the bottom of the fifth -- blowing the seemingly-comfortable lead Warren had left with earlier. Ramirez allowed each of the Rays' first four hitters to reach in the frame, but escaped with the tie intact after inducing a pair of flyouts.
Martin Struggles: Indeed, it wasn't until the next inning when Chris Martin surrendered a Desmond Jennings solo home run that the Rays grabbed the advantage -- their first of the afternoon. Jennings' high fly to left was just one of two runs for the Rays in the turn -- the other coming on a Martin wild pitch three batters later.
Gregorius Keeps Hitting: Throughout all of the Yankees' pitching troubles, though, Didi Gregorius made sure to record a couple of hits -- an infield single in the fifth and an RBI double in the seventh. Gregorius is now 4-for-9 since Tuesday, having logged a double in three straight contests.
Next Up: The Yankees will head to Clearwater Friday when they take on the Phillies at 1:05 p.m. ET -- a matchup you can see live on TCN. Michael Pineda is set to get the nod for the Pinstripes opposite youngster Aaron Nola -- Philadelphia's top pitching prospect who is expected to start the year at Double-A.