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 The retiring New York Yankees captain got some swag pregame and
got hit by a pitch in the eighth inning that nearly started a brawl
as the Tampa Bay Rays ran off to a 6-1 win in a contest between two
teams playing out the string.
Steve Geltz striking the shortstop with a high fastball was galling
enough to the Yankees and the scores of his fans dominating the
crowd of 21,387, but the fact that Rays pitchers have struck five
New York batters in their last five games nearly triggered a melee.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi and his players agreed on three basic
facts that irritated them greatly: though the Rays, they say, are
not intentionally striking them, they need to "learn to pitch
inside," Girardi fumed, that a warning was issued to the Yankees
after Jeter was struck although no Rays batters had been hit, and
that New York reliever David Phelps was ejected for subsequently
brushing back the Rays' Kevin Kiermaier.
"I'm tired of it. I'm tired of my guys getting hit," said Girardi,
who was ejected for the fourth time this season. "I am all for
pitching inside, but you hit five of our guys in four games and you
don't think we'll be pissed.
"We're not pin cushions."
Yankees third baseman Chase Headley, who took a pitch off the chin
against the Rays in New York and a fastball in the ribs on Monday,
said he believes after a discussion with the umpiring crew on
Tuesday that warnings were made quickly because, "they're trying to
keep tempers down, trying to keep anything from happening."
It barely worked.
Rays manager Joe Maddon said, "I don't really blame the Yankees for
being upset there. We've hit a couple of their guys, obviously none
of it intentional. It's called baseball. It happens every once in a
while and its nothing that we want to do. It's nothing to apologize
for."
Tampa Bay improved to 74-78 in winning its seventh of 11. The
Yankees fell to 76-74 in losing their third straight and fifth in
six. The frustrations of two teams winding down disappointing
seasons began to gurgle in the seventh inning, when the Rays blew
the game open with a four-run rally featuring a bizarre two-RBI
sacrifice flyout to deep right-center by pinch-hitter Wil Myers.
Left fielder Ben Zobrist began the inning off with a walk against
reliever Esmil Rogers before designated hitter David DeJesus chased
him to third with a single and third baseman Evan Longoria banged an
RBI base hit to left for a 3-1 lead. First baseman James Loney
(3-for-4) greeted Rich Hill with a bloop single to center and second
baseman Nick Franklin upped the lead to 4-1 with a single to left.
With one out, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury ranged far to his left
and leaped to snare a Myers blast, but Longoria and the slow-footed
Loney both scored for a 6-1 lead before he could return the ball.
Girardi twice left the dugout to argue that Loney had left early,
but tag-up plays are ineligible for review under instant replay
guidelines.
"He left early," Girardi said.
Girardi was out of the dugout and perturbed again in the top of the
eighth, gesturing toward Geltz after he struck shortstop Jeter on
the hand with an 0-2 pitch.
"I was totally caught off-guard," Geltz said of Girardi's reaction.
"I felt like he of all people should know -- the guy has been around
baseball forever -- he should know that's not intentional. It's an
0-2 count. I'm trying to get him out. I'm not trying to hit him.
That's Derek Jeter. I'm not trying to hit Jeter."
Girardi was ejected for the fourth time this season. Phelps followed
him after buzzing lead-off batter Kiermaier in the eighth, prompting
both benches to empty and converge near home plate. No punches were
thrown. Bench coach Tony Pena, in charge after Girardi's ejection,
was also tossed as pitchers had been warned against further
aggression.
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Phelps blamed his near-miss on poor control as he attempts to come
back from an elbow injury, but added, "I think our team as a whole
is frustrated by a whole lot of stuff right now."
Rogers was charged with three runs on two hits and a walk in a third
on an inning, Hill with a run on two hits.
Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead in the sixth with the assistance of an
overturned out call at third base. Franklin, who had doubled with
one out, was initially ruled out attempting to take third on a wild
pitch-ball four to Matt Joyce, but replay revealed that he beat the
tag of Headley. Shortstop Yunel Escobar scored Franklin with a
squeeze bunt he legged into a single when catcher Francisco Cervilli
initially attempted to make a play at the plate. Right-hander Josh
Outman entered to quell the rally on an odd double play when
Kiermaier fell leaving the batter's box.
Yankees starter Michael Pineda (3-5) was charged with one earned run
on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Just 68 of his 100
pitches were strikes. The right-hander has lasted at least seven
innings in his previous two starts and had failed to walk a batter
in four consecutively. Pineda had faced 119 consecutive batters
without a walk or hit batter until issuing a crucial free pass in
the Rays' one-run fifth.
At least he got some offensive support, although not much. The
Yankees had failed to score in his last three starts when he was the
pitcher of record.
Rays starter Jake Odorizzi (11-12) allowed a run on five hits and a
walk with three strikeouts in six innings. The right-hander has now
allowed one run or fewer in 12 of 30 starts this season, tied for
best among major league rookies with Seattle's Roenis Elias.
Right fielder Ichiro Suzuki gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the
second inning with a base hit to right field, scoring designated
hitter Chris Young, who had doubled with two outs off Odorizzi.
Tampa Bay tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the fifth with an
unearned run off Pineda. Two errors were central to the rally, the
last a Pineda muff of a toss from first baseman Brian McCann that
allowed Kiermaier to score. Kiermaier had reached on a bounced throw
by second baseman Brendan Ryan and moved to second on a walk to Ryan
Hanigan before Pineda botched the play at first base.
NOTES: Yankees SS Derek Jeter was honored in a pregame ceremony in
which the Tampa resident received a $16,000 check from a local
charity for his Turn 2 Foundation, a pin-striped kayak with a "2"
emblazoned on the front and back, and a framed Rays jersey of the
late Don Zimmer, who was his bench coach for eight years. Jeter is
just the third visiting player, joining Yankees RHP Mariano Rivera
(Aug 23, 2013) and Orioles 3B Cal Ripken Jr. (Aug 23, 2001), to be
afforded such festivities at Tropicana Field. ... The Rays, already
ousted from the American League East race, played only 13 games
since 2007 in which they had already been mathematically eliminated
from postseason contention. ... Rays 3B Evan Longoria and Yankees
LHP CC Sabathia were announced as their teams' nominee for the
Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes one player who "best
represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on
and off the field, including sportsmanship and community
involvement."
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