Rays Vs. Yankees Recap: CC Sabathia Shuts Down Tampa As New York Takes Series

The New York Yankees rebounded from Wednesday night's ninth-inning collapse to take Game 3 against the Rays and clinch the series in the Bronx. New York ace CC Sabathia went eight strong innings, allowing no earned runs and giving way to Rafael Soriano in the ninth.

The Rays capitalized on two Yankee errors in the first two innings to take an early 2-0 lead. Carlos Pena singled home Sean Rodriguez in the top of the first after a throwing error by Eduardo Nunez kept the inning alive one batter prior. After another throwing error by Nunez in the second inning, Rodriguez brought home Elliot Johnson to make it 2-0 against Sabathia. But the big lefty was undeterred by his defense, cruising through the next six innings and finishing with ten strikeouts, including three by B.J. Upton.

Tampa starter David Price did not have his best stuff, allowing five earned runs and 11 hits over seven innings. He walked three and struck out four, but gave up too many big hits to the Yankees' lineup. After Tampa took an early 2-0 lead, Price gave it right back in the bottom of the second when Curtis Granderson homered and the bottom of the order put together a threat that ended with Chris Stewart singling home Nunez. New York would take the lead for good when Robinson Cano, who's had a subpar year, smashed a two-run homer to right to make it 4-2. That's all Sabathia and Soriano would need, before closing it out 5-3.

The Rays now travel down I-95 for a first-place showdown with the Baltimore Orioles. Game 1 of the weekend series will feature Jeremy Hellickson vs. Dana Eveland on Friday night.

As always, please head over to DRaysBay for more on this series and all things Tampa Bay Rays baseball. For some perspective from the other dugout, please head over to Pinstripe Alley, SB Nation's New York Yankees blog. And for more on this and every MLB series, please head over to the SB Nation Major League Baseball hub page.

Matt Joyce Hits Homer, Rolls Ankle, Swallows Pride

Rays Vs. Yankees: Tampa Bay Goes For Series Win In Deciding Game 3

For about eight innings on Wednesday night it looked like the Tampa Bay Rays were just going to give up a 1-0 loss without very much resistance. The David Robertson came on to get the save in the ninth inning and the Rays erupted for four runs and earned the win. They'll have the chance to go for a series win on Thursday, first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm and the game can be found on Sun Sports.

Thursday will feature the best two pitchers on each team. CC Sabathia will be on the mound for the Yankees, and he will be opposed by David Price. Sabathia hasn't pitched as well as his 4-0 record on the year would indicate, but he has been very good over his last few starts. Price brings in a 5-1 record. Simply put, this is a matchup of two of the best left-handed pitchers in all of MLB.

We'll have plenty more on this series over the next few days here on SB Nation Tampa Bay, so keep it locked to this StoryStream for all the latest news and updates. As always, please head over to DRaysBay for more on this series and all things Tampa Bay Rays baseball. For some perspective from the other dugout, please head over to Pinstripe Alley, SB Nation's New York Yankees blog. And for more on this and every MLB series, please head over to the SB Nation Major League Baseball hub page.

Rays Vs. Yankees Recap: Tampa 9th-Inning Heroics Win It 4-1

The Tampa Bay Rays evened up their series with the New York Yankees on Wednesday night behind an impressive outing from Jeff Niemann. The big righty struck out five and walked just one in seven innings, allowing just one run in a 4-1 Rays victory. Niemann got off to a bit of a rough start, after Robinson Cano went the other way with a pitch and double home Derek Jeter, who raced around from first to give New York a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

The Yankees' pitchers, however, matched Niemann and shut out of the Rays over the first eight innings. David Phelps made just his second career start, and he was impressive shutting out Tampa Bay over 4.2 innings. The Yankees bullpen kept the Rays off the board until new closer David Robertson came on for the save in the one-run game.

It was an ugly outing for Robertson as the bottom of the Rays' order jumped all over him right away. Sean Rodriguez and Brandon Allen led it off with two singles. Ben Zobrist walked and after a Carlos Pena strikeout, B.J. Upton would tie it up with a sacrifice fly to bring home Rodriguez. The tie would not last long, however, as Matt Joyce, in a 1-2 hole, took Roberston over the right field fence for a three-run shot that blew it open at 4-1. Fernando Rodney would stay on in the ninth to get the win.

After the dramatic ninth-inning rally, the Rays will go for the series win on Thursday night in a matchup of aces. David Price will toe the rubber for Joe Maddon while the Yankees will counter with C.C. Sabathia.

We'll have plenty more on this series over the next few days here on SB Nation Tampa Bay, so keep it locked to this StoryStream for all the latest news and updates. As always, please head over to DRaysBay for more on this series and all things Tampa Bay Rays baseball. For some perspective from the other dugout, please head over to Pinstripe Alley, SB Nation's New York Yankees blog. And for more on this and every MLB series, please head over to the SB Nation Major League Baseball hub page.

Rays Vs. Yankees Preview: Tampa Bay Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2 Of Series

The Tampa Bay Rays didn't get out ahead of the New York Yankees in the first game of their three game set, and ultimately lost 5-3. They'll have a chance to right the ship on Wednesday and even their series against those bombers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 and you can find the game on Sun Sports or the MLB Network.

The pitching matchup for Wednesday's game might not have as much sizzle as Tuesday's pairing did, but it should still be a pretty interesting matchup. Jeff Neimann takes the mound for the Rays, and he will be opposed by the Yankees newest starter, David Phelps. Phelps has come on strong for the Yankees in a limited role of late, and it will be interesting to see how the Rays handle a pitcher they may not be that familiar with.

We'll have plenty more on this series over the next few days here on SB Nation Tampa Bay, so keep it locked to this StoryStream for all the latest news and updates. As always, please head over to DRaysBay for more on this series and all things Tampa Bay Rays baseball. For some perspective from the other dugout, please head over to Pinstripe Alley, SB Nation's New York Yankees blog. And for more on this and every MLB series, please head over to the SB Nation Major League Baseball hub page.

Rays Vs. Yankees Final Score: Tampa's Rally Falls Short, Yanks Win 5-3

The Tampa Bay Rays opened up a three-game road series with the New York Yankees with a loss, going down 5-3 on Tuesday night. The Yankees opened up with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to a Raul Ibanez two-run home run. The Yankees then got another run from Curtis Granderson in the very next inning thanks to a solo home run, giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead.

The Rays began a rally to cut into the Yanks lead with a Jose Molina home run. The very next inning Luke Scott picked up his seventh home run of the season, cutting the Yankees lead to 3-2. In the seventh inning Raul Ibanez hit his second home run of the night to push the lead to 4-2, but Ben Zobrist answered in the next inning with a home run of his own. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Mark Texiera sealed the deal with a double scoring Alex Rodriguez to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead and enough to win the game.

We'll have plenty more on this series over the next few days here on SB Nation Tampa Bay, so keep it locked to this StoryStream for all the latest news and updates. As always, please head over to DRaysBay for more on this series and all things Tampa Bay Rays baseball. For some perspective from the other dugout, please head over to Pinstripe Alley, SB Nation's New York Yankees blog. And for more on this and every MLB series, please head over to the SB Nation Major League Baseball hub page.

Rays Vs. Yankees: Tampa Bay Opens Up Three Game Set In The Bronx

The Tampa Bay Rays swept the Yankees in their season opening series, can they do the same when they head to the Bronx?