Dominant Yankees’ Gerrit Cole the difference in win over Rays | Rapid reaction

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Gerrit Cole paused for a moment on the mound. He had just blown a blistering 98.8 mph fastball past Brett Phillips for the final out in the eighth inning. Then, with hardly a hint of emotion, Cole walked toward the Yankees’ dugout.

The Yankees didn’t pay him to rile anybody up. They gave him more than $300 million to be ruthlessly efficient, an arm that can demoralize foes.

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They got just that as Cole absolutely dominated the Rays, throwing eight scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory at Tropicana Field on Wednesday.

The victory snapped a six-series winning streak Tampa Bay had over New York. More importantly, it further stood as a statement that the Yankees aren’t intimidated by their division rivals.

The win was the Yankees’ fourth straight and they have won 11 of their last 14 games. They’re 20-16. The Rays fell to 19-19.

It came after the Yankees’ second straight day of COVID-19 scares, with two more support staff members testing positive for the virus and shortstop Gleyber Torres being held out of the game as the team awaited clarification on his test results. For the second game, the Yankees were without their pitching coach, third base coach and first base coach, all of whom had tested positive for the virus.

Cole made the Yankees’ six scattered hits and their difficulty against the Rays’ arms stand up.

He fanned 12 hitters — one shy of his season high. He also walked nobody — extending his walk-less streak to five starts. He’s given up just three walks all year.

Cole allowed just two hitters in scoring position. Austin Meadows got a cheap double when the ball clanked off a catwalk of the dome in the first inning. In the sixth, Randy Arozarena doubled and then reached third with two outs, but Cole fanned Manuel Margot to end the inning. He struck out the six in the eighth inning and finished with 106 pitches.

Aroldis Chapman earned his second consecutive save and ninth total with a perfect ninth inning. He hasn’t given up an earned run in 15 total innings this year.

The Yankees finally broke the scoreless tie in the seventh with Aaron Hicks’ sacrifice fly to center field that scored Aaron Judge. Phillips caught Hicks’ liner going to his left and above his head, giving him no chance at Judge, who had reached third base on Gio Urshela’s double to right-center field in the prior at-bat. Judge appeared to have a chance at scoring but third base coach Carlos Mendoza held him up.

With one out in the fifth inning, Clint Frazier had words with plate umpire Bill Miller following an inside called strike three. The Yankees had been barking at Miller throughout the game. Miller ejected Frazier, prompting manager Aaron Boone to leave the dugout to chat with Miller, but things didn’t escalate. Brett Gardner replaced Frazier.

The Yankees will look to sweep the series with Jameson Taillon on the mound Thursday. They’re in the midst of a 10 games in 10 days, three-city road trip.

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Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.