The lead changed hands three times in the first four innings, but Tampa Bay settled the matter in the fourth. The Rays scored four runs in that frame to turn a one-run deficit into a two-run cushion they never surrendered, beating the New York Yankees 6-4 on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYY | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| TB | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 6 | 8 | 1 |
The fourth inning belonged to Hunter Feduccia and Yandy Diaz. With the game tied at 3-3, Feduccia's two-run homer to right center — 396 feet — gave Tampa Bay a 5-3 lead, the go-ahead blow of the night. Diaz followed with a solo shot to right to push it to 6-3. Diaz finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and a home run, carrying a .319 average on the season. Feduccia went 1-for-2 with a walk and 2 RBI. Richie Palacios also contributed, going 2-for-2 with 2 runs scored, while Victor Mesa opened the scoring with a solo homer to right in the second inning.
The game's back-and-forth nature was established early. Mesa's homer gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead in the second, and Díaz singled home Palacios to make it 2-0. New York answered in the third when Ben Rice launched a three-run homer to left center — 382 feet — scoring Max Schuemann and Trent Grisham to put the Yankees ahead 3-2. Rice was the best hitter on the field, going 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI, his 26th homer of the season. Tampa Bay then tied it in the fourth on Palacios's RBI double before Feduccia's blast flipped the lead for good.
Ian Seymour earned the win, his sixth of the season, striking out 12 batters over 5.1 innings while allowing 3 runs on 5 hits. He walked none. Will Warren took the loss, falling to 7-4, after allowing 6 runs on 7 hits in 4.0 innings with a 4.15 ERA. The Yankees trimmed the deficit to 6-4 on a Sánchez sacrifice fly in the seventh that scored Jazz Chisholm, but Bryan Baker closed it out with a scoreless ninth for his 24th save of the season, carrying a 1.78 ERA.
Tampa Bay improved to 53-36, holding first place in the division. Yandy Diaz is one double away from 200 career doubles. New York fell to 50-41.