Yankees get some help, but Nestor Cortes great again in win over Rays | Rapid reaction

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Yankees had some things go their way Thursday night that directly led to most of their run production in a 7-2 series-opening win over the Rays.

If Tampa Bay shortstop Taylor Walls makes a good throw to first after spearing Miguel Andujar’s sixth-inning rocket in the hole, the Yankees wind up settling for one run instead of three in a game that was scoreless through five. The Yankees also scored their fourth run on a two-out wild pitch in the seventh and the last of their three ninth-inning runs on a throwing error.

All of that was a big help, but there was nothing lucky about this win because the Rays couldn’t do squat against the Yankees’ rising star left-hander.

Nestor Cortes was nasty again pitching a four-hitter through eight-plus innings and Wandy Perata got the final three outs to seal a win that stretched the Yankees’ AL East lead to 5 ½ games over the second-place Rays.

Cortes pitched into the ninth, leaving with a 7-0 lead after Wander Franco lined a leadoff single to right. Yankees fans made up more than half of the 14,610 in attendance and they booed loudly when manager Aaron Boone made his way to the mound for the hook, then gave Cortes a standing ovation as he returned to the third-base dugout.

The Rays scored their two runs in the ninth with Peralta on the mound. The lefty allowed two hits, one on a shutout-breaking RBI infield single that would have been an out if the reliever had covered first base.

This opener of this four-game Memorial Day weekend series was the first of the season between the Yanks and the two-time reigning champs.

Through five innings, it was quite a pitching duel, as Rays lefty Ryan Yarbrough (0-1) was throwing a no-hitter while Cortes allowed just two first-innings baserunners on a walk and bloop single.

When the Yankees finally broke through in the sixth, it was newcomer Matt Carpenter igniting the three-run rally.

A free agent acquisition on Thursday afternoon, Carpenter was a late addition to the lineup at designated hitter when outfielder Aaron Hicks was scratched with right hamstring tightness. A three-time All-Star during his 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Carpenter started the Yankees sixth by reaching on a hit by pitch, then moved to second when No. 9 hitter Marwin Gonzalez broke up Yarbrough’s no-hit bid with a line single to center. Aaron Judge followed with a hit to score Carpenter with the game’s first run.

Yarbrough retired the next two hitters, but Gonzalez advanced on Anthony Rizzo’s flyout to right and Judge stole second before Gleyber Torres popped out to third with two runners in scoring position. From there, Andujar laced a two-hopper to the shortstop hole that Walls speared, but he stumbled a little making the grab and then rushed a throw to first that was in the dirt and skipped past first baseman Harold Ramirez, scoring two runs.

The Yankees made it 4-0 in the sixth when Isiah Kiner-Falefa worked a leadoff walk and scored on the wild pitch, then they tacked on three in the ninth on a sac fly by Judge and RBI double by Rizzo in which another run scored on an error.

Cortes improved his record to 4-1 and lower his ERA to 1.53 in a 105-pitch outing in which he retired 14 in a row after the Rays put two on with one out in the first inning. Andujar made a nice grab on a liner to left to end the Rays’ first-inning threat, then Tampa Bay had just one more runner in scoring position the rest of the way on Manuel Margot’s two-out double in the seventh.

NOTABLE

— Hitting out of the eight hole in his Yankees debut, Carpenter was 0-for-2 with a hit by pitch, walk and two runs scored.

— Usually a left fielder, Joey Gallo made his first start of the season in right and was 0-for-4 with three more strikeouts. He’s 0-for-20 with 11 whiffs in his last six games, dropping his average from .202 to .165.

— DJ LeMahieu’s sore wrist hasn’t shown much improvement since he had a cortisone injection on Tuesday. The Yankees plan to decide this weekend whether LeMahieu will go on the IL.

–Zack Britton is making good progress returning from Tommy John surgery last fall and will throw a bullpen next Tuesday. The Yankees are hopeful that the star reliever will be back in their bullpen by late summer or the fall.

LOOKING AHEAD

Friday: Yankees at Rays, 7:10 p.m., Amazon Prime.

Saturday: Yankees at Rays, 4:10 p.m., YES.

Sunday: Yankees at Rays, 1:40 p.m., YES & MLB Network (out of market).

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.