Yankees hold off Rays late as big fifth inning enough to take series
Patience gave way to aggressiveness, walks became runs and a tie game turned into a series-clinching win.
A day after their offense went missing in a shutout loss, the Yankees made sure another starter’s strong outing did not go to waste, pouncing for a four-run fifth inning that proved to be just enough for a 5-4 win over the Rays on Sunday afternoon in The Bronx.
The offensive attack, led by Alex Verdugo’s three-hit day, supported Luis Gil, who put together his best start of the season while striking out a career-high nine across 5 ²/₃ innings.
The right-hander allowed just two hits, one (unearned) run and three walks, following up on Nestor Cortes’ seven shutout innings on Saturday.
A shorthanded Yankees bullpen made things interesting late when Dennis Santana gave up three runs in the eighth inning to pull the Rays (12-11) within 5-4.
But with Clay Holmes unavailable after pitching on back-to-back days, Victor Gonzalez secured his second save of the season to lift the Yankees (15-7) to a sixth series victory in seven tries.
In the end, the Yankees’ one big inning was enough to decide the game.
“We showed that we never give up and it’s never [too] late to get good at-bats against a good pitcher like [Aaron] Civale,” said Oswaldo Cabrera, who capped off the rally with an RBI single that drove in what turned out to be the winning run.
After Civale got two quick outs in the fifth, he issued a four-pitch walk to Giancarlo Stanton.
Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres then battled for full-count walks that forced Civale to throw a combined 14 pitches between the two at-bats.
What came next was an ambush.
Verdugo, Jose Trevino and Cabrera — the bottom three hitters in the lineup and three of the Yankees’ hotter bats of late not named Juan Soto — came to the plate and each jumped on the first pitch they saw, all resulting in singles that turned a 1-1 game into a 5-1 Yankees lead.
“It’s not about necessarily being passive, it’s about aggressively hunting a pitch you’re looking for,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought Civale was really good today and the fact that they were able to outlast him in some at-bats and create traffic there and then Dugie went up there looking in a spot, got it and delivered. I think these guys through it all are trying to have really tough at-bats. That doesn’t mean you don’t swing at the first pitch.”
Verdugo’s clutch two-run single, which put the Yankees ahead for good, was part of his strong all-around game that also included a sliding catch in the left-center field gap in the top of the sixth.
“Just wanted to make sure we cashed in on something,” said Verdugo, who is batting .357 over his last 12 games. “With two outs, getting that big hit, it helps the guys behind me, Cabrera and Trevy, ‘All right, damage is done, let’s just go up there and have a good at-bat.’ They both put really good swings on the ball and kept it going.”
Trevino has a six-game hitting streak, batting 8-for-19 in that stretch, while Cabrera is batting 9-for-21 this season with runners in scoring position.
Coming off a seven-walk effort against the Blue Jays on Monday, Gil spent the time between starts trying to fine-tune his mechanics to improve his command, which paid dividends Sunday.
Gil also avoided letting his emotions boil over again after a third inning in which he balked in a run from third base to tie the game.
After getting a strikeout on his next pitch to end the inning, Gil glared at home plate umpire John Libka (who called the balk) as he walked off the mound, with Boone quickly jumping out of the dugout to redirect him.
“These are these little lessons that keep coming up that I think are going to be good for his growth,” Boone said. “The talent’s undeniable. Handling these situations in-game that can get you off your game, you can’t allow that to happen. He’s doing a better job of that and he’s had some good learning moments so far.”
