Jonathan Aranda drove in three runs, and Chandler Simpson continued to dazzle with his speed in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 7-5 victory over the New York Yankees from the Bronx on Sunday afternoon.
The win clinches the rubber game of the three-game set for the Rays, and relegates the Yankees (19-15) to a fourth loss in their last six games.
Simpson, who went 2-for-5 with an RBI, scored from second base in the fourth inning on an infield single by Yandy Diaz up the middle, which was initially knocked down by the diving Yankees shortstop Oswald Peraza. Staying down momentarily, Simpson took the opportunity to break from third and beat the throw home comfortably to make it 5-0.
It was the final tally of a three-run frame against Yankees starter Will Warren, which started with Brandon Lowe’s two-run single.
Simpson opened the scoring in the second when he beat out a double play to score Travis Janowski from third base. Aranda homered in the top of the third, his fifth of the season, to double Tampa Bay’s advantage.
The Yankees began their comeback in the sixth inning when Cody Bellinger hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot, but Aranda canceled it out with a two-run single in the seventh off Carlos Carrasco, the starter turned reliever on Sunday after struggling in his first season in the Bronx.
After Warren went 5.2 innings and Tyler Matzek added 1.1, Carrasco preserved the bullpen by going the final three innings.
The Yankees nearly came all the way back from their five-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth when they plated three to pull within two. Paul Goldschmidt continued to rake with a run-scoring single before Jorbit Vivas collected his first-career MLB hit to plate two more.
