August 20-22, 2055: vs Austin (3)
Game 1: Ezequiel Avalos had a big day and the Rays rolled over the Dukes 7-4. The RF was 3-4 with 4 RBI including a 3-run blast (#19) that broke things open in the 3rd. Also going deep were Kang-cheol Lee (#11) with a solo shot and Joel Bland (#7/20) with a 2-run jack. Melvin Lopez didn't allow a run in 3 1/3 innings but it took him 91 pitches to get through them so Warren Dalton (2-0) earned the win in relief and after Steve Cleland made a mess allowing all 4 Austin runs Mario Berumen had to come in for save #34.
Game 2: The Dukes drubbed the Rays 10-3 in the second game as Brad Villarreal (12-8) and a pair of relievers were hit hard. Villarreal, who has suffered through a poor second half of the season, went 4.1 7 5 5 2 1 in the loss.
Game 3: The Rays bounced back to take the rubber game 7-1 from Austin. Erik Witten (2-1) was outstanding at 6 5 1 1 0 7 and he had plenty of offensive help. Takayuki Tsujimura homered (#9), Brian Whittaker was 2-3 with two doubles, a steal and an RBI and Dantel Chinchilla plated a pair.
Team record: 74-51. The Yankees lost 2 of 3 at home to the Angels, enabling us to pull within 1/2 game of them and even in the loss column as the division race remains a barnburner. Next up: We finish off the homestand with 3 against Boston.
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