Field Level Media
May 13, 2021
Veteran left-hander Rich Hill went 6 2/3 shutout innings, Austin Meadows hit a home run and produced four RBIs, and the Tampa Bay Rays walloped the New York Yankees 9-1 Thursday night at St. Petersburg, Fla.
A night after Yankees ace Gerrit Cole shut down the Rays with fastballs in a 12-strikeout outing, Hill (2-1) kept New York out of sorts by snapping off curveballs that occasionally dipped into the high 60 mph range.
Hill, 41, allowed three hits and three walks while striking out nine in a season-high 104 pitches. He extended his scoreless streak to 17 2/3 innings.
Meadows went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a homer, and Randy Arozarena went deep for the Rays in a three-run sixth inning. Three of Arozarena's four homers this season have come against the Yankees.
Yandy Diaz had two hits and two RBIs for the Rays, who won for the second time in six games while salvaging the finale of a three-game series.
Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez had two of his club's five hits. New York saw its four-game winning streak end.
With shortstop Gleyber Torres placed on the COVID-19 list, third baseman Miguel Andujar was called up and went 0-for-4 for New York, which lost for the first time in five games.
Yankees starter Jameson Taillon (1-3) was inconsistent over 4 2/3 innings, surrendering four runs on six hits and two walks but posting a season-high nine strikeouts.
The Rays' bats were busy in the first inning against Taillon, who making his first career start in the domed stadium only an hour away from the right-hander's hometown of Lakeland.
With two outs and no one on, Tampa Bay's heart of the order produced three straight hits -- a single by Manuel Margot, double for Brandon Lowe and a two-run single from Diaz -- for a 2-0 lead.
In the third, the Rays added on when Meadows jumped on a changeup from Taillon and lined his eighth homer to right to push the advantage to 4-0.
Hill held the Yankees at bay with just one hit through five innings but ran into first-and-third, one-out trouble in the sixth. However, Mike Ford grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Arozarena added insurance with a three-run shot to left off Michael King in the sixth -- the outfielder's first homer since April 23 -- for a 7-0 lead.
Meadows produced a two-run single in the eight before Clint Frazier grounded into a double play in the ninth to spoil the shutout bid.
--Field Level Media