ST. PETERSBURG — The Yankees are beatable, after all. Taylor Walls walked back his comments about the first-place Bombers on Sunday, but also backed up the premise with a career day. The Rays’ light-hitting infielder homered off Luis Severino and made two run-saving plays as the Yanks fell 4-2 at Tropicana Field.
“There was no-shade throwing towards them,” Walls said after the Rays secured the split of the four-game series. “Every team in this league is beatable, especially when they are playing us.”
The Yankees (33-15) lost two straight for just the third time this season and split the four games with the Rays (28-19). The Bombers maintained the best record in baseball and a 4.5-game lead over the Rays in the American League East.
The Rays only got two hits off Luis Severino and the Yankees bullpen. It was all they needed, both hits were home runs.
Ji-Man Choi homered off the starter in the second inning. Taylor Walls, who reacted to Thursday night’s loss to the Yankees by saying they are “very beatable,” homered to give the Rays the lead in the fifth.
It was the first time this season Severino has allowed more than one homer in a game.
Severino, however, walked Wander Franco and Choi to lead off the seventh inning and was charged with those runs when Ron Marinaccio walked pinch hitter Harold Ramirez and then hit Mike Zunino with the bases loaded.
Severino allowed a season-high tying four earned runs, but allowed just two hits. He walked two and struck out eight. The right-hander threw a season-high 103 pitches.
But it wasn’t the pitching that stalled for the Yankees, they managed just five runs over the last three games of the series.
For the third straight game, the Rays pitching overcame the Bombers’ offense. On Sunday, the Yankees got seven hits off lefty Shane McClanahan, but could only punch through one run. That was a Gleyber Torres homer, his second in three games and ninth of the season, in the second inning.
The Yankees’ other run came on Aaron Judge’s major-league leading 18th of the season in the eighth off lefty Colin Poche.
The Yankees went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position Sunday. Aaron Hicks twice had opportunities with runners in scoring position Sunday and was robbed both times. In the sixth, he hit a hard liner that was snared by third baseman Yandy Diaz. In the eighth, with Torres on third base, Hicks hit a hard ground ball up the middle and Walls made a tremendous play to stop and throw to make the third out.
“A pretty special play there, up the middle, off the bat I think it was going to be a hit. I thought it was a great at bat by Aaron,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Credit to them, they made a play.”
The Rays have the third best team ERA in the American League—behind the Astros and Yankees—and held the Bombers in check for three of the four games. It’s a battle the Bombers expect every year with the Rays now.
“Just wasn’t our day,” Judge said. “Every time we come here to the Trop it’s always a battle with them. They got a great ball club over there and I know they’ve got a couple of pitchers banged up but other guys on that side in the bullpen and even their starters, they got some they got some good arms over there.
“We got them the first two and they got us the last two and a good series, but we’ll see them again soon.”
By then, when the Rays come to the Bronx for the first time this season June 14, the Yankees are hoping their lineup will be whole again. Giancarlo Stanton is out with an ankle issue and Josh Donaldson is out with a shoulder issue.
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