Live Blog: Yankees at Rays

The Yankees won, 5-4.

David Robertson got the win for the Yankees, pitching a scoreless eighth inning. With the score tied at 4 in the top of the ninth, Robinson Cano hit a solo homer. He went 3-for-4 and lifted his batting average to .334. The home run was his 21st. Mark Teixeira was 1-for-4 with a game-tying two-run homer in the sixth. Nick Swisher went 1-for-4 but hit a solo home run to tie the score at 4 in the seventh. Javier Vazquez allowed four runs, eight hits and a walk and struck out three in 6 1/3 innings for a no-decision. The outing raised his ERA slightly, up to to 4.61. Matt Garza gave up four runs, five hits and a walk and struck out nine in seven innings.

Alex Rodriguez was again held homerless. He was 0-for-3 with a strikeout but did walk and come around to score on Curtis Granderson's sacrifice fly in the second.

With the win, the Yankees improve to 66-37 and the Rays fall to 64-39. The teams will play the rubber game Sunday at 1:40 p.m.

Bottom of the 9th
[Mariano Rivera is in to close for the Yankees.]
Rivera pitched a scoreless inning to record the save and close out the win. After Rodriguez struck out on a fastball away and Upton grounded to short, Willy Aybar (pinch-hitting for Shoppach) blooped a single to right, just out of Cano's reach. But Bartlett made the final out on a grounder to short, which Jeter tossed to Cano for the force at second. Yankees win: 5-4

Top of the 9th
[Rafael Soriano in to pitch the ninth for the Rays.]
Cano gave the Yankees a lead, crushing a solo homer to deep right. After Rodriguez hit a high pop up to short (Bartlett made the catch while falling backwards), Cano got a breaking ball down and in - a lefty's happy zone - and drilled it. Swisher struck out and Granderson lined out to right for the last two outs. 5-4, Yankees

Bottom of the 8th
[David Robertston is in to pitch the eighth for the Yankees.]
Robertson pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Longoria grounded to short, Brignac struck out on a high 90-mph fastball and Joyce wiffed on a low curveball.

Top of the 8th
[Joakin Benoit in to pitch for the Rays.]
Benoit worked a quick inning. Jeter grounded to short and Berkman and Teixeira each struck out on changeups low and away.

Bottom of the 7th
[Never mind the sixth-inning note. Vazquez came back out to start the seventh and Chamberlain sat down. After getting Shoppach to pop up behind the plate, Vazquez walked Bartlett on four pitches and Joe Girardi went to the bullpen. Vazquez exits having thrown 102 pitches and Boone Logan is now in to pitch.]

Logan got Jaso to fly out to center (a shallow bloop behind second caught on the run by Granderson) and Crawford grounded to second to end the inning.
 

Top of the 7th
Swisher led off the seventh with a homer to tie the score (again). Garza threw a curveball that hung high - a little out of the zone, actually - and Swisher clobbered it to right... Granderson grounded to second for the first out, Cervelli struck out looking and Gardner popped up to third. This was likely Garza's last inning. He's thrown 109 pitches (75 strikes). 4-4

Bottom of the 6th
Joyce gave the Rays back the lead, crushing a solo homer to right. With two outs, Vazquez hung a 72-mph curveball over the inside corner and Joyce teed off on it. Rodriguez followed with a single between third and short. With Vazquez at 93 pitches, Joba Chamberlain began to warm in the bullpen and pitching coach Dave Eiland made a trip to the mound. Longoria had grounded to short and Pena popped up to center for the first two outs and Upton ended the inning by grounding to third; A-Rod threw to second for the force out. 4-3, Rays

[Note: With Vazquez at 96 pitches (65 strikes) and Chamberlain warming, it looks as if Chamberlain might pitch the seventh inning. It's a little surprising since he pitched two scoreless innings in yesterday's game... The Rays have pulled Carlos Pena from the game (sore right foot) and moved Sean Rodriguez over from second to first to replace him. Reid Brignac enters to play second base.]

Top of the 6th
Teixeira drilled a two-run homer to left to tie the score for the Yankees. Jeter had led off with a double to the right-centerfield wall. After Berkman hit a foul pop up to third, Teixeira hammered Garza's first offering. Rodriguez and Cano struck out to end the frame. 3-3

Bottom of the 5th
Barlett drove in Upton with a sacrifice fly to right, adding to the Rays' lead. Upton led off by lining a double down the leftfield line (the ball kissed inside the line then bounced into the stands for a ground's rule double). Shoppach bunted him over to third. With two outs, Jaso lined a double by Teixeira down to the rightfield line. He hustled to second, beating Swisher's throw. Crawford struck out on a high fastball to end the inning.  3-1, Rays

Top of the 5th
Garza has settled nicely. Granderson grounded to second for the first out, then Cervelli and Gardner struck out. It was Garza's sixth strikeout and his pitch count is now at 82. If he continues at this pace, he should be good for another two innings.

Bottom of the 4th
Vazquez had a 1-2-3 fourth. Pena flew out to right-centerfield (caught by Granderson), Joyce grounded out to first and Rodriguez grounded to second.

Top of the 4th
Teixeira grounded toward second (to the shifted shortstop Bartlett) for the first out. Rodriguez got under a fastball and popped up to right. (He's now gone 35 at-bats since homer #599.) With two outs, Cano doubled deep into the left-centerfield gap, but Swisher struck out to end the frame. Cano has both of the Yankees' hits in this game.

Bottom of the 3rd
Crawford's RBI single drove in Jaso and the Rays retook the lead. After Jason Bartlett popped up to first, Jaso smacked an opposite-field triple to left. With the ball slicing away, Gardner made a dive but missed and the ball rolled to the wall. Crawford followed with an opposite field poke to left. Vazquez ended the inning by getting Longoria to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. 2-1, Rays

Top of the 3rd
Garza recovered from his long second inning with a quick third. He struck Brett Gardner out looking, fanned Jeter on a 93 mph fastball diving down and away and got Berkman to pop up to third.

Bottom of the 2nd
Vazquez had a quick inning. Sean Rodriguez flew out to deep right for the first out, B.J. Upton grounded to third and Kelly Shoppach struck out swinging on a low curveball.

Top of the 2nd
Curtis Granderson's sacrifice fly to left scored Alex Rodriguez and tied the score 1 for the Yankees. Rodriguez had drawn a leadoff walk, taking an inside fastball on 3-and-2. Cano followed with a lined double that one-hopped the rightfield wall, setting up runners at second and third (and breaking up the no-hitter). Swisher, who abdicated his #2 slot in the lineup for Berkman, went down looking on a curveball for the first out. Francisco Cervelli flew out to center to end the frame. The Yankees managed just a run, but did make Garza work. He's up to 37 pitches. 1-1

Bottom of the 1st
The Rays took a 1-0 lead on Evan Longoria's sacrifice fly that scored John Jaso. Jaso had lined an inside fastball to right over Nick Swisher's head and got to second with a leadoff double. Carl Crawford had moved him to third with a bunt single (rolling it slowly to second base). After the sac fly, Crawford swiped second - despite a pitch out. It was Crawford's 400th stolen base and only the third that Vazquez has allowed this season. Vazquez recovered to strike out Carlos Pena and get Matt Joyce to ground out to second. 1-0, Rays

Top of the 1st
Matt Garza pitched a quick first inning. Derek Jeter grounded out to second on the first pitch (a 93 mph fastball) and Lance Berkman, in his first at-bat as a Yankee, hit a shallow fly ball to right field. Good swing, but the ball got in towards the handle... Mark Teixeira hit a grounder up the middle that went for a 5-3 groundout (with the infield shift, Evan Longoria was in the shortstop position).