Two games in and the Yankees are already on the brink of getting swept in Tampa Bay by the Rays who hold a share of first place with the Red Sox. The Yankees keep losing games because of their lack of run scoring ability. This same lineup scored a boatload of runs lately against the Angels and the Blue Jays which made me believe that they turned a corner. Now, I'm just beginning to think that they just beat up on some below-average teams with weak pitching in the rotation and bullpens. Tampa Bay is stacked with pitchers. David Price only lasted six innings against the Yankees but it was still enough for the Yankees to only score two runs off the lefty. CC Sabathia was given a 2-0 lead but get it all get away in the sixth inning, just one inning after Price gave up the two runs to the Yankees. The Rays would cap on an insurance run in the eighth inning by a Longoria home run against Preston Claiborne. The Yankees would fade into the night quietly by going down in order in the eighth and ninth innings. Sabathia's pitching was definitely an improvement from his other starts against the Rays but the end result was the same as Sabathia suffered his third loss against the Rays this year. These Price-Sabathia matchups don't have much juice in them because it usually ends with CC getting clobbered and Price being on the winning end of those matchups.
The best the Yankees can hope for is to take one game from the Rays tomorrow to avoid a three game losing streak, which they can't have right now if they want to stay in the race. Ivan Nova gives me a lot of confidence when he's on the mound. However, Alex Cobb has been brilliant for the Rays all year and has performed well against the Yankees in his short career. He has beaten the Yankees twice this year already and will try to make it three wins tomorrow as he tries to lead his team to a series sweep.
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