The New York Yankees (14-7) couldn't get a rally going in extra innings, falling 2-0, against the Tampa Bay Rays (12-10) on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
On a day when legendary radio broadcaster John Sterling was honored with a ceremony following his retirement announcement, the Yankees failed to come through with a victory.
The Yankees got a fantastic outing from lefty Nestor Cortes. He threw seven scoreless innings without allowing a walk while striking out nine. Unfortunately, it was all for naught. Rays starter Zach Eflin was stellar on the other side, allowing no runs, no walks and just three hits while striking out six in 6.0 innings pitched.
Going into extra innings, Caleb Ferguson gave up a double with a runner on second to give the Ryas the lead. They followed that up with another RBI single in the top of the 10th. The Yankees failed to get their inherited runner in from second base, ending the game.
For more Yankees coverage, check out Kevin Hickey's work on Sporting News.
Yankees - Rays box score recap
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
| TB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| NYY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Top performers of the game
- OF Juan Soto: The superstar right fielder was the only Yankees hitter with multiple hits, and he nearly walked it off in the bottom of the ninth with a fly ball to the warning track in left field.
- RP Luke Weaver: In his only inning of work, Weaver struck out one and didn't allow a walk or a hit. He threw 12 pitches (eight strikes) and threw a first-pitch strike to all but one of the batters he faced.
- CP Clay Holmes: Holmes' stuff was downright nasty on Saturday. He threw 21 pitches, 14 of which were strikes and generated five whiffs.
Nestor Cortes was stellar
Cortes was in control of this game from the start. He generated a season-high 17 whiffs and should have had 10 strikeouts had it not been for a missed called third strike on his final batter of the game. This outing essentially was for nothing, though, as the Yankees offense couldn't scratch across many base runners throughout the day against Rays starter Zach Eflin.
Here's the final line for Cortes:
| IP | H | R (ER) | BB | K | HR | Pitches- Strikes | Whiffs | |
| Nestor Cortes | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 102 - 69 | 17 |
Quick Hits
- Aaron Judge continues to struggle at the plate, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. He was booed off the field following his fourth strikeout in the bottom of the ninth.
- Nestor Cortes is the only pitcher this season with multiple games of 7.0 innings pitched, no runs and no walks. (Katie Sharp)
- This is the second game in a row the Yankees failed to record more than five hits.
- In nine games, Caleb Ferguson has a 6.23 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.
- Jahmai Jones got his first start of the season at second base, giving Gleyber Torres a day off. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
What’s Next?
The Yankees and Rays will wrap up Game 3 of the series at Yankee Stadium on Sunday with first pitch at 1:35 p.m. ET.
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