The New York Yankees won for just the second time in 11 games on Monday, but they are still not doing very well on the training table.
The banged-up Yankees will try to produce their first two-game winning streak in two weeks when they meet the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.
New York manager Aaron Boone has three starting pitchers sidelined: left-handers Carlos Rodon and Max Fried plus right-hander Luis Gil, with Fried likely the closest to return after a 36-pitch live batting practice session on Sunday.
Boone said Monday that Giancarlo Stanton (strained right calf) has not resumed running on the field since sustaining a setback in June, adding there is no current timeline for the designated hitter’s return.
Reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge is expected to miss a few more weeks with a stress fracture of a rib. He hasn’t played since May 31.
The Yankees won 5-1 on Monday in the series opener behind Jose Caballero’s two homers and four RBIs and an overpowering pitching performance from Cam Schlittler. The right-hander fired eight innings of one-run, four-hit ball, lifting his record to 9-5 and dropping his ERA to 2.01.
It was the first win by a visiting AL East club this season in St. Petersburg.
The Yankees also got a solo shot from Ben Rice, as all three of their hits were home runs.
“It just felt good to play well,” Boone said. “It’s still a grind for us offensively, but some long balls were huge.”
Winless in his last five outings, Will Warren (7-3, 3.73 ERA) will start for New York on Tuesday. The right-hander will attempt to post his first victory since the Yankees routed the Athletics 13-8 on May 31.
In three career starts against the Rays, all last year, the 27-year-old Mississippi native is 0-1 with a 3.65 ERA.
Now holding a three-game lead over the second-place Yankees in the AL East and riding a three-game losing streak, Tampa Bay saw its hurlers whiff 17 batters on Monday, led by starter Griffin Jax’s career-high-tying 10.
He walked two batters, both just ahead of allowing Caballero’s first blast, which put Tampa Bay in a 3-0 hole. That was the lone hit Jax yielded in five innings.
The Rays managed only four hits.
“(Schlittler) looked very confident,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “He attacks you with it, and not many pitchers can live on that fastball like he does, but he certainly can.”
Jax retired the first 13 hitters he faced.
“I thought Jax threw the ball incredibly well,” Cash added. “Got to be really pleased with the way his arsenal attacked that Yankees lineup. … They hit a lot of homers.
“Pleased with the way we pitched. We’ve just got to find a way to keep them in the ballpark.”
Tampa Bay’s Chandler Simpson dribbled an infield single in the fifth inning, extending his hitting streak to nine games.
Coming off a strong effort in a 5-2 road victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, Ian Seymour (5-1, 4.02) will get the ball for the Rays on Tuesday. The 27-year-old left-hander has made the transition to the rotation and is heading into his fifth start.
Seymour won each of his past two starts, permitting a total of one run on three hits and two walks in 12 2/3 innings. He fanned 15 in those outings, both against Kansas City.
He is 1-0 with a 7.56 ERA in five career relief outings against the Yankees. Seymour has faced the Yankees three times this year, earning a win and tossing a total of 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball.
–Field Level Media
