ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- It took them nearly a decade, but the New York Yankees have finally swept the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, completing the trifecta with Sunday's 5-3 victory.
There was nothing outstanding here today. Michael Pineda was OK, the offense was efficient but unspectacular (three of the runs scored on outs) and the Rays lineup really isn't very threatening. Still, it was a solid, if workmanlike victory and a nice little three-game winning streak to take them into the Tigers' den this week.
Closing time: Andrew Miller, who Joe Girardi refuses to designate the Yankees closer, closed out his fourth game in four attempts, giving up a leadoff double to Ryan Brett but then striking out Rene Rivera and Logan Forsythe and Steven Souza Jr. to finish it.
Lightning Rod: After taking an 0-for-3 Saturday night, Alex Rodriguez got back into the action with a double into the left-field corner in the third inning, leading to two Yankee runs. The hit moved Brett Gardner (single) to third, from where he scored on Mark Teixeira's groundout, and then Rodriguez scored on Chase Headley's single up the middle, giving the Yankees back the lead, 3-2.
Head of the class: Headley had two hits and two RBI, driving in Rodriguez both times, the second with a hard-hit double into the right-field corner in the fifth inning to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead.
Speed demons: On Saturday it was Brian McCann, and on Sunday it was Garrett Jones -- neither of whom would be considered fast by any stretch of the imagination -- hitting triples, the only two by the Yankees this season. Jones was helped tremendously by Rays CF Desmond Jennings, who made an ill-advised try at a sliding catch, effectively turning what would have been a fourth-inning single into a three-base hit, and had Jacoby Ellsbury or Gardner been running, probably an inside-the-park homer. Jones scored the Yankees fourth run on John Ryan Murphy's sacrifice fly to center.
Walking start: Pineda had walked just one batter in his first two starts of the season, but he started off today's game by walking David DeJesus, and the free baserunner cost him a run when the Rays No. 2 hitter, Souza Jr. hit a home run into the left-field stands to give Tampa a 2-1 lead. After that, Pineda settled down for the next three innings before allowing a third run on Souza's RBI double in the fifth. Pineda wasn't great -- 5 2/3 IP, 7 hits, 3 earned runs -- but he improved as the game went on and was certainly better than last time out and good enough to earn his second win of the season.
Three for one: Girardi was in mix-n-match heaven in the seventh inning, using Chris Martin, Justin Wilson and Dellin Betances to get the three outs. Martin, who had taken over for Pineda in the sixth, was pulled after Rene Rivera's leadoff single. Wilson, brought in to face lefty Dejesus, wound up facing righty pinch-hitter Logan Forsythe, who flied out. Then it was Betances' turn, and after wild-pitching Rivera to third, he struck out Souza and got Asdrubal Cabrera to ground out into the shift to end the inning.
Nexxxxt!: A flight to Detroit, followed by a four-game series against the AL Central leading Tigers. The pitching matchups, assuming no rainouts: CC Sabathia (0-2, 5.68) vs. RHP Alfredo Simon (2-0, 2.03) on Monday (7:08 p.m., YES); Nathan Eovaldi (0-0, 4.35) vs. LHP Kyle Lobstein (1-0, 5.40) on Tuesday; Adam Warren (0-1, 4.82) vs. LHP David Price (1-0, 0.40) on Wednesday and Masahiro Tanaka (2-1, 3.94) vs. RHP Anibal Sanchez (1-2, 7.71) on Thursday.
