[Art Deco]

Game 1: Well it was pretty clear this game wasn't played at Tropicana Field as the Rays won a wild one over the Yankees 16-9 to make it 4 straight. They jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the 3rd, but Dustin May couldn't get it done, allowing the Yankees to get back within 8-6 in the bottom of the inning. Daniel Lynch did get it done again in long relief, getting the game into the 7th and picking up the win before Jose Alvarado took over and got the last two outs of the 7th to keep it at 8-6. The Rays added 4 in the 8th to make it 12-6, but Sandy Gaston served up a 3-run HR to Aaron Judge, his 2nd of the game, to make it 12-9. That brought on Nick Anderson, who loaded the bases for Giancarlo Stanton, but Anderson got the whiff and then the Rays added another 4 in the top of the 9th to make it 16-9. This time Asa Lacy got the job done with a 1-2-3 inning and the game was finally over. Alec Bohm led the hit parade with a pair of HRs in a 3-4, 4-run, 5-RBI performance; Wander Franco also hit two solo HRs in a 3-6 day, Keibert Ruiz was 4-6 with 3 RBI and Nick Schnell, Keston Hiura and Hunter Bishop each drove in a pair of runs. May was awful for the second straight start, going 3.2 6 6 6 2 3 allowing 3 HRs including Judge's first of the day and 300th of his career.

April 19: Optioned P Nick Frasso to AAA Durham, activated P Aaron Ashby from the 60-day IL; placed P Seth Johnson on waivers and designated him for assignment.

Ashby's rehab time was up, and he did OK at Durham. If he's back to where he was at the beginning of last year before getting hurt, I'll be happy. I really didn't want to waive Seth Johnson but I had to make room on the 40-man. As the lowest star-rated player (**) on the 40-man I'm hoping he'll clear waivers but if not he'll likely get more of a shot than I'll probably be able to give him.

Game 2: Compared to yesterday's 16-9 slugfest, today's game was a completely different affair. But the outcome was the same as the Rays won 3-2 to extend their winning streak to 5, and extend the Yankees' losing streak to 10 as the boys from the Bronx are now a dismal 1-13 to start the season. Mitchell White got his first start since last Sunday's 8-run, 14-hit debacle and it too was a completely different affair. Aaron Judge's HR leading off the 5th was the first hit and only run the Yankees managed off him today as he went 7 3 1 1 3 8 to grab his first win as a Ray. Jose Alvarado allowed his first run of the season in the 8th to allow the Yankees within 3-2, but Nick Anderson struck out Aaron Judge to end the inning and Jasseel De La Cruz struck out a pair around a walk to nail down save #5. The Rays manufactured a run in the 1st when Vidal Brujan led off the game with a single, stole second, and scored on a Nick Schnell groundout, and in the 2nd their legs led to another run when Keston Hiura stole second after singling and Chris Betts singled him home with two out. And Brandon Marsh got what turned out to be a very important insurance run in the 8th when he hit his first homer of the year off Zach Pop into the RF stands. Austin Meadows returned to the lineup after missing about a week with an oblique and went 0-4, while Spencer Torkelson showed more signs of getting out of his mini-slump with 3 hits today including a double.

Game 3: Tyler Glasnow wasn't his best again, and Gerrit Cole shut down the Rays after some early struggles as the Yankees managed their second win of season 5-3. After being staked to a 3-1 lead in the 2nd, Glasnow gave up a 3-run HR to Giancarlo Stanton in the 2nd and another run in the 3rd as he went 6 7 5 5 1 6 and despite 34 whiffs in 23 2/3 innings this season he sports a 5.32 ERA. The Rays got to Cole courtesy of a 2-run HR by Alec Bohm (among the MLB leaders now at 7) and an RBI single from Vidal Brujan. But Cole settled down and shut them out the rest of the way, going 8 8 3 3 0 5. The young power hitters Spencer Torkelson and Triston Casas had rough days, going a combined 0-8 with 5 strikeouts. One bright spot was Aaron Ashby, making his first appearance in nearly a year. The lefty pitched a perfect 7th inning with a strikeout, and he will be a valuable piece of the bullpen if he can regain his form. Mitch Keller pitched a scoreless 8th. Meanwhile Austin Meadows continues to suffer nagging injuries and had to leave in the 4th after legging out an infield hit. Just after missing 6 days with an oblique, he'll now miss 4 games with a mild hamstring strain.

Game 4: This time they did waste a great Matt Manning outing as there was no last-minute rally in a 1-0 loss at Yankee Stadium. Manning went 7 3 1 1 2 6, giving up a run in the 7th on a sac fly while his teammates with the bats couldn't get anything done against Luis Severino, who himself went 7.2 4 0 0 2 4. It looked like they might have a chance when Keibert Ruiz led off the 9th with a double against Yankee closer Nick Paciorek, but Alec Bohm whiffed, Spencer Torkelson grounded out sending Ruiz to 3rd, and Nick Schnell struck out. Triston Casas took another collar today as his 0-3 dropped his average to .118 and the main reason he wasn't out of the lineup today was that Keston Hiura was DHing and taking Austin Meadows' spot in the lineup rather than starting for him at 3B. Aaron Ashby had another nice 1-2-3 inning on a back-to-back so there's at least that as the team drops to 9-8 and the mediocre start continues.

Team record: 9-8. Up next: 3 games in Minnesota.