http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ycn-9172147
Rays Back Within Two Games of Boston in Wild Card Race After 15-8 Win Over Yanks
Rays Back Within Two Games of Boston in Wild Card Race After 15-8 Win Over Yanks
NEW YORK—Desperate to gain ground on the idle Boston Red Sox in the wild card race, the Tampa Bay Rays avoided getting swept out of the Bronx Thursday night, pounding Bartolo Colon (notes) (L, 8-10) and the Yankees, 15-8, to salvage the finale of a four-game set.
Colon gave up seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in just three innings, possibly jeopardizing his chances of being included in New York's postseason rotation in the process.
Before the first three outs of the game were recorded, Tampa Bay had taken a 3-0 lead on Matt Joyce's (notes) two-run single and ex-Yankee Johnny Damon's (notes) sacrifice fly to left. B.J. Upton (notes) and Evan Longoria (notes) each knocked in a run in the second, and Ben Zobrist (notes) blasted a two-run homer (17) into the second deck in right in the third. In the fourth, Upton and Damon each took reliever Scott Proctor (notes) deep with a man on, bringing Tampa Bay's lead to 11-0.
The Rays would add two more unanswered runs before Yankees backup outfielder Andruw Jones (notes) hit a two-run shot—his 12th on the year—off Dane De La Rosa (notes) in the sixth.
Left-handed starter [Matt Moore]e|/mlb/players/8873 (notes) (W, 1-0), 22, struck out 11 hitters over five shutout innings, earning his first big league win.
Speaking of firsts, Yankees September call-ups Andrew Brackman (notes) and Dellin Betances (notes) each made their major league debut in the game. Brackman, 25, held the Rays scoreless over 1.1 innings, while Betances, 23, yielded two runs on four walks in two-thirds of an inning.
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