Rays Win First Series Against Yankees With Walk Off

By Lily Belcher

By the fifth inning, the Rays' chances of winning their first series against the Yankees were looking bleak. They were down 6-0. New York's ace Gerrit Cole had only given up two hits. And the Yankees were looking for a big win against their American League foes.

Then, Cole tossed a bad pitch and Siri drove it over the centerfield wall. Then, Gleyber Torres overshot his third baseman and Yandy Diaz scrambled home, scoring from first on the error. Things were looking up for the Rays.

By the sixth inning, the Rays were down 6-3 with two on, no outs and the tying run at the plate. Then, Cole hung a breaking ball in the middle of the zone and Christian Bethancourt smacked it over the head of centerfielder Harrison Bader. The game was tied at six. The Rays were back in it.

"I was just happy to see all the dugout, all the fans and it's a special moment. You tie the game against one of the best pitchers in the game and there's nothing wrong with celebrating that," said Bethancourt.

The Rays went on to walk it off in the tenth inning with an RBI base hit by Isaac Paredes in front of a roaring crowd of 32,142 fans Sunday afternoon.

"[It was] pretty impressive," said Kevin Cash about Paredes' clutch hit to win the game. "...That was a pretty big hit and we were kind of jumping around and high fiving."

The opening series against New York had a different feel for Rays fans this year. While the Rays are off to a dominating 28-7 start, the Yankees are treading water in last place in the AL East, only one game above .500. And, it's not just because Aaron Judge is sitting the bench with a sore hip.

The Yankees defense showed their weakness, with dropped balls in the outfield and poor throws on seemingly routine infield plays. Their base running crumbled under Tampa Bay's pressure, catching Aaron Hicks in a tenth inning rundown between third and home.

The once untouchable New York Yankees have fallen off their throne with an embarrassing start to the 2023 season, even if they are holding on to a winning record. After an average April, the Yankees quickly fell to last place in the AL East, 2.5 games behind the Red Sox in fourth.

The pinstripes lost six of their last eight games in April and have lost half the games they've already played in May. They are staring down key division rivalry games, playing eleven games against the top three AL East teams teams in the next two weeks. Maybe the sun is finally setting on the Yankees' glory days and rising on deserving competitors.

Meanwhile, the Rays have a record breaking offense, solid defense and a reliable rotation, even with a handful of key players facing injuries.

The weekend series against New York was the first of only four regular season match ups between the teams. The Rays and Yankees are slated to play only ten more games against each other, with four more being played next weekend and the final six set for August.

The Rays will travel to Baltimore for a three game set before going to the Bronx for a four day weekend series.