ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Alex Cobb figures to be one of the keys to Tampa Bay's chances of re-emerging as a playoff contender.
The Rays' right-hander continued his comeback from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him most of the past two seasons, pitching into the sixth inning of a 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night.
Building on five starts he made late last year, Cobb (1-0) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
"That was probably the best I've been on the mound since I've been back from Tommy John," Cobb said. "It's not to the point where I would like to end up being eventually, but it's definitely good enough to go out there and compete with."
Corey Dickerson and Derek Norris drove in two runs apiece for the Rays, who took two of three games from their AL East rivals to open a season with a series victory for the first time since 2012.
Dickerson hit the first leadoff homer of his career , driving Michael Pineda's third pitch into the right-field seats. He added an RBI single in the second, when Tampa Bay scored three times with two outs. Norris drove in the first two runs of the inning with a single to center off Pineda.
"It just came down to he made some mistakes with his fastball," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He made one to Dickerson early. The big one he made was to Norris. He had two outs and he looked like was going to get out of that inning without giving up a run. Just couldn't seem to get the third out."
Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, including a home run off Cobb , but the Yankees got little production from the heart of their lineup in the series. Chase Headley had his third straight multi-hit game for New York, going 2 for 3 to finish 7 of 11 in the three games.
Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird and Matt Holliday -- the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters -- went 4 for 37 with one RBI in the series. Sanchez, off to a 1-for-14 start, singled off Cobb in the third inning for his first hit.
"They got off on a little slow start," Girardi said, "but I'm not worried."
Pineda (0-1), who was 0-3 with a 7.30 ERA in five starts against Tampa Bay a year ago, struck out six while allowing four runs and eight hits over 3 2/3 innings.
If there was a bright spot for the Yankees in the series, it was the performance of a bullpen that didn't allow a run in 13 2/3 innings, including the final 4 1/3 innings Wednesday night.
Cobb, meanwhile, made his first April start in three years. He won at Tropicana Field for the first time since Aug. 21 against Detroit.
The right-hander missed the entire 2015 season after undergoing elbow surgery. He went 1-2 with an 8.59 ERA last season.
"This entire time I've tried not to be results-based, whether I'm happy or not with myself with the way the comeback's coming," Cobb said. "There's definitely some more things on my end I need to get to, but with the stuff I had today, I'm real happy about it."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: SS Didi Gregorius, out until sometime in May with a sprained right shoulder, will increase his throwing from 60 to 90 feet on Thursday.
Rays: SS Matt Duffy (Achilles tendon), one of seven Tampa Bay players who began the season on the disabled list, did flexibility drills in the outfield.
BLAZING START
Headley, who got off to a terrible start last year, has three consecutive multi-hit games to begin a season for the first time. It's the longest such streak for the Yankees since Alfonso Soriano had multiple hits in the first six games of 2003. Headley had a double and a single Wednesday night after going 5 for 8 in the first two games, when he singled three times through vacated spaces on the left side of a shifted infield.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Headley's success against the shift won't necessarily force the Rays to re-think their defensive strategy moving forward.
"I might be wrong, but we're going to trust our process in how we position guys. And if we circle back over a month or a couple series time, and it's shown that enough throughout the league, then we'll make an adjustment," Cash said. "But I don't think we can make a quick adjustment after two games."
UP NEXT
Yankees: Following an off day, RHP Luis Severino faces Orioles RHP Ubaldo Jimenez on Friday night in the first of three games in Baltimore. Severino won the fourth spot in the rotation during spring training. He went 0-8 with an 8.50 ERA in 11 starts last season.
Rays: LHP Blake Snell and Toronto RHP Marcus Stroman are the scheduled starters Thursday in the opener of a four-game series. Stroman is 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA in four career starts at Tropicana Field.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
New York Yankees
The Rays' right-hander continued his comeback from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him most of the past two seasons, pitching into the sixth inning of a 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night.
Building on five starts he made late last year, Cobb (1-0) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
"That was probably the best I've been on the mound since I've been back from Tommy John," Cobb said. "It's not to the point where I would like to end up being eventually, but it's definitely good enough to go out there and compete with."
Corey Dickerson and Derek Norris drove in two runs apiece for the Rays, who took two of three games from their AL East rivals to open a season with a series victory for the first time since 2012.
Dickerson hit the first leadoff homer of his career , driving Michael Pineda's third pitch into the right-field seats. He added an RBI single in the second, when Tampa Bay scored three times with two outs. Norris drove in the first two runs of the inning with a single to center off Pineda.
"It just came down to he made some mistakes with his fastball," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He made one to Dickerson early. The big one he made was to Norris. He had two outs and he looked like was going to get out of that inning without giving up a run. Just couldn't seem to get the third out."
Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, including a home run off Cobb , but the Yankees got little production from the heart of their lineup in the series. Chase Headley had his third straight multi-hit game for New York, going 2 for 3 to finish 7 of 11 in the three games.
Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird and Matt Holliday -- the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters -- went 4 for 37 with one RBI in the series. Sanchez, off to a 1-for-14 start, singled off Cobb in the third inning for his first hit.
"They got off on a little slow start," Girardi said, "but I'm not worried."
Pineda (0-1), who was 0-3 with a 7.30 ERA in five starts against Tampa Bay a year ago, struck out six while allowing four runs and eight hits over 3 2/3 innings.
If there was a bright spot for the Yankees in the series, it was the performance of a bullpen that didn't allow a run in 13 2/3 innings, including the final 4 1/3 innings Wednesday night.
Cobb, meanwhile, made his first April start in three years. He won at Tropicana Field for the first time since Aug. 21 against Detroit.
The right-hander missed the entire 2015 season after undergoing elbow surgery. He went 1-2 with an 8.59 ERA last season.
"This entire time I've tried not to be results-based, whether I'm happy or not with myself with the way the comeback's coming," Cobb said. "There's definitely some more things on my end I need to get to, but with the stuff I had today, I'm real happy about it."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: SS Didi Gregorius, out until sometime in May with a sprained right shoulder, will increase his throwing from 60 to 90 feet on Thursday.
Rays: SS Matt Duffy (Achilles tendon), one of seven Tampa Bay players who began the season on the disabled list, did flexibility drills in the outfield.
BLAZING START
Headley, who got off to a terrible start last year, has three consecutive multi-hit games to begin a season for the first time. It's the longest such streak for the Yankees since Alfonso Soriano had multiple hits in the first six games of 2003. Headley had a double and a single Wednesday night after going 5 for 8 in the first two games, when he singled three times through vacated spaces on the left side of a shifted infield.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Headley's success against the shift won't necessarily force the Rays to re-think their defensive strategy moving forward.
"I might be wrong, but we're going to trust our process in how we position guys. And if we circle back over a month or a couple series time, and it's shown that enough throughout the league, then we'll make an adjustment," Cash said. "But I don't think we can make a quick adjustment after two games."
UP NEXT
Yankees: Following an off day, RHP Luis Severino faces Orioles RHP Ubaldo Jimenez on Friday night in the first of three games in Baltimore. Severino won the fourth spot in the rotation during spring training. He went 0-8 with an 8.50 ERA in 11 starts last season.
Rays: LHP Blake Snell and Toronto RHP Marcus Stroman are the scheduled starters Thursday in the opener of a four-game series. Stroman is 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA in four career starts at Tropicana Field.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| New York - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | NYY | TB |
| Gardner struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Sánchez flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Bird struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | NYY | TB |
| Dickerson homered to center (428 feet). | 0 | 1 |
| Kiermaier flied out to center. | 0 | 1 |
| Longoria struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Miller grounded out to third. | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | NYY | TB |
| Holliday grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Ellsbury homered to right center (374 feet). | 1 | 1 |
| Castro flied out to right. | 1 | 1 |
| Headley popped out to third. | 1 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | NYY | TB |
| Souza Jr. singled to center. | 1 | 1 |
| Morrison singled to left off catwalk, Souza Jr. to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Beckham struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Souza Jr. to third, Morrison to second on wild pitch by Pineda. | 1 | 1 |
| Smith grounded into fielder's choice to third, Souza Jr. out at home, Morrison to third. | 1 | 1 |
| Smith stole second. | 1 | 1 |
| Norris singled to right, Morrison and Smith scored. | 1 | 3 |
| Norris stole second. | 1 | 3 |
| Dickerson singled to right, Norris scored. | 1 | 4 |
| Kiermaier singled to right, Dickerson to third. | 1 | 4 |
| Kiermaier caught stealing second, catcher to second. | 1 | 4 |
| 3 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | NYY | TB |
| Judge struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| Torreyes lined out to right. | 1 | 4 |
| Gardner walked. | 1 | 4 |
| Sánchez singled to center, Gardner to third. | 1 | 4 |
| Bird grounded out to pitcher. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | NYY | TB |
| Longoria struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| Miller struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| Souza Jr. grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | NYY | TB |
| Holliday flied out to left. | 1 | 4 |
| Ellsbury struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| Castro grounded out to third. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | NYY | TB |
| Morrison singled to shallow center. | 1 | 4 |
| Beckham struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| Smith singled to left, Morrison to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Norris struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| Layne relieved Pineda. | 1 | 4 |
| Morrison to third, Smith to second on passed ball by Sánchez. | 1 | 4 |
| Dickerson popped out to second. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | NYY | TB |
| Headley doubled to center. | 1 | 4 |
| Judge grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Headley out at third, Judge to second advancing on play. | 1 | 4 |
| Torreyes grounded out to pitcher, Judge to third. | 1 | 4 |
| Gardner popped out to second. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Tommy Layne pitching for New York | NYY | TB |
| Kiermaier grounded out to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Longoria walked. | 1 | 4 |
| Miller popped out to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Warren relieved Layne. | 1 | 4 |
| Souza Jr. lined out to right. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Alex Cobb pitching for Tampa Bay | NYY | TB |
| Sánchez flied out to left. | 1 | 4 |
| Bird bunt grounded out to third. | 1 | 4 |
| Holliday singled to left. | 1 | 4 |
| Cedeño relieved Cobb. | 1 | 4 |
| Ellsbury reached on infield single to shortstop, Holliday to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Díaz relieved Cedeño. | 1 | 4 |
| Castro struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Adam Warren pitching for New York | NYY | TB |
| Morrison struck out looking. | 1 | 4 |
| Beckham grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 4 |
| Smith struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Erasmo Ramirez pitching for Tampa Bay | NYY | TB |
| Headley walked. | 1 | 4 |
| Judge grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Headley out at second. | 1 | 4 |
| Torreyes flied out to center. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Adam Warren pitching for New York | NYY | TB |
| Norris grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 4 |
| Dickerson struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| Kiermaier struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Erasmo Ramirez pitching for Tampa Bay | NYY | TB |
| Gardner singled to left. | 1 | 4 |
| Gardner to second on passed ball by Norris. | 1 | 4 |
| Sánchez grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 4 |
| Bird struck out looking. | 1 | 4 |
| Holliday grounded out to second. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Chasen Shreve pitching for New York | NYY | TB |
| Longoria lined out to left. | 1 | 4 |
| Miller grounded out to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Souza Jr. walked. | 1 | 4 |
| Morrison grounded out to pitcher. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Alex Colome pitching for Tampa Bay | NYY | TB |
| Ellsbury reached on infield single to shortstop. | 1 | 4 |
| Castro grounded into double play, third to second to first, Ellsbury out at second. | 1 | 4 |
| Headley reached on infield single to third. | 1 | 4 |
| Headley to second on fielder's indifference. | 1 | 4 |
| Judge flied out to center. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
New York Yankees
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardner LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | .273 | .385 | .364 |
| Sánchez C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | .071 | .071 | .071 |
| Bird 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | .083 | .214 | .167 |
| Holliday DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | .182 | .250 | .273 |
| Ellsbury CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .455 | .500 | .818 |
| Castro 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .250 | .250 | .250 |
| Headley 3B | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | .636 | .667 | 1.000 |
| Judge RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .167 | .167 | .250 |
| Torreyes SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .111 | .111 | .444 |
| Totals | 33 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 148 | |||
| BATTING 2B: Headley (1, Cobb) HR: Ellsbury (1, 2nd inning off Cobb 0 on, 1 Out) RBI: Ellsbury (1) GIDP: Judge, Castro Yankees RISP: 0-9 (Sánchez 0-1, Holliday 0-1, Bird 0-2, Torreyes 0-1, Judge 0-2, Castro 0-1, Gardner 0-1) Team LOB: 7 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING PB: Sánchez. | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL |
| Attendance | 12,737 (41% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:17 |
| Weather | indoors |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Dan Bellino, First Base - Mike Estabrook, Second Base - Jerry Layne, Third Base - Marvin Hudson |
No comments:
Post a Comment