Tampa Bay also eliminated the Yankees from last year’s playoffs in a five-game series that went the distance.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays keep finding ways to frustrate the New York Yankees. Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena homered off Domingo Germán, helping the Rays extend their mastery over their AL East rivals with a 4-0 victory on Saturday. The Rays have won 10 of 12 regular-season games between the teams since the start of 2020. Tampa Bay also eliminated the Yankees from last year’s playoffs in a five-game series that went the distance. Six Tampa Bay pitchers combined to limit the Yankees to five hits, with an injury-riddled bullpen delivering a strong performance after starter Chris Archer departed with a forearm injury that landed him on the 10-day injured list. “Any time you shut out a team in major league baseball, it’s saying something,” manager Kevin Cash said. “When you do it in that fashion against that lineup, it’s really saying something.” Meadows got things rolling for the Rays with a solo homer in the first inning, his third of the season. He had three hits in Tampa Bay’s 10-5 win over New York the previous day and has homered three times in eight career at-bats against Germán (0-2). Arozarena, a rookie who keyed the Rays’ run to the World Series with a breakout postseason, hit a 420-foot solo shot in the third inning for a 4-0 lead.
