NEW YORK (AP) — Richie Palacios led off the game against Marcus Stroman with the first of Tampa Bay’s four home runs,Jose Siri took a half-minute trot after his longball and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 6-4 on Sunday.
Randy Arozarena hit his third home run in two days and José Caballero also went deep as the Rays hit four homers for the second straight day, something they had done once in their first 97 games.
Siri hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Jake Cousins, raised both hands near second base and cupped his right hand to his ear while rounding third.
“They boo a lot here,” Siri said through a translator. “They even boo their own team. I don’t think that’s a good thing.”
After the Rays opened a 5-0 lead, Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning off Jason Adam, a 444-foot drive to left field. Judge leads the major leagues with 35 homers and 89 RBIs.
Tampa Bay has won two straight after a series-opening loss and moved back over .500 at 50-49 heading into Monday’s series finale. The Rays have been at .500 22 times.
“I would love if we didn’t have a 23rd,” closer Pete Fairbanks said.
New York dropped to 9-20 after a 50-22 start. Aaron Boone was ejected before the start of the seventh inning for arguing, his major league-high fifth ejection this season and 38th of his managing career. Boone was trying to protect slumping Alex Verdugo, who was angry over a called third strike on a pitch that appeared to be low.
New York’s rotation had a major league-best 2.86 ERA during a 51-24 start through June 18 but has a big league-worst 6.39 mark since. The Yankees allowed 22 runs in the first inning of their opening 70 games but have given up 25 in their last 31.
“We know we’re better than this,” Boone said.
New York hit a pair of double-play grounders, raising its total to a big league-high 94, and failed to score before Judge’s homer despite nine of its first 20 batters reaching base. The Yankees were 4 for 28 with runners in scoring position in the first three games of the series, stranding 23 runners.
“Just trying to do too much,” Judge said. “I’ve definitely been there plenty of times where you’re trying to get something going, trying to spark the team and stuff like that happens. We’ve just got to go back to just doing our job, and you don’t get a pitch to hit, just pass it to the next guy.”
After the Yankees didn’t capitalize on bases-loaded situations in each of the first two innings against Shane Baz, left-hander Garrett Cleavinger (6-2) relieved with two on in the fourth, struck out Ben Rice and retired Juan Soto on a flyout.
Fairbanks allowed Rice’s one-out walk in the ninth and Soto’s RBI double off the left-center wall, a catchable ball that Siri lost in the sun.
Judge hit a long foul drive and flied out to center, and Fairbanks wiggled his shoulders for an intentional balk before his first pitch to Austin Wells.
“I don’t like it when they tell them at the plate what’s coming, so I’d prefer if they weren’t on second base,” Fairbanks said. “I tried to make it as blatant as I could possibly do without dropping the ball and kicking it off my foot or doing something weird, and it actually took everybody longer to catch on. … I’m not that rhythmic. I feel like it should have been something that they should have caught a little quicker.”
Wells then took a called third strike, giving Fairbanks his 18th save in 20 chances.
New York rested two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu, hitting just .177 and hitless in 17 at-bats. Verdugo went 0 for 4 and is hitless in 19 at-bats and 1 for his last 28.
Stroman (7-5) gave up three runs — two earned — and three hits in 5 1/3 innings. He has allowed 17 home runs, four shy of his career high.
Baz yielded four hits and five walks over 3 1/3 scoreless innings in his third major league start since returning from Tommy John surgery. He got four swings and misses, down from nine in each of his first two starts.
Palacios hit his first career leadoff homer and Arozarena boosted the lead to 2-0 in the fourth with his 15th home run this season, his fifth against the Yankees.
“The fans here are excellent fans,” Arozarena said through a translator. “It gives me a lot more motivation and inspires me a little bit more. I get to play with a little bit more fun.”
Josh Lowe reached when Gleyber Torres allowed his grounder to bounce off his glove for his 12th error, most among big league second basemen. Lowe stole second and scored on Caballero’s single.
Caballero homered off Luke Weaver in the ninth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: LHP Jeffrey Springs (Tommy John surgery in May 2023) allowed two runs, four hits and one walk Saturday night in a start for Triple-A Durham shortened by rain to three innings. It was his 11th minor league rehab appearance.
Yankees: DH Giancarlo Stanton (strained left hamstring) took batting practice on the field and ran out of the batter’s box. He could be ready for games within a week.
UP NEXT
Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (9-7) starts against Tampa Bay’s Zack Littell (3-6) in a Monday matinee.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
