Zack Littell tossed seven strong innings and earned the win when the visiting Tampa Bay Rays scored twice in the eighth inning Saturday and edged the New York Yankees 3-2 in the middle game of a three-game series.
Curtis Mead and Jose Caballero had the RBIs in the eighth for the Rays, who snapped a four-game losing streak in which they were outscored 17-3. Taylor Walls lofted a sacrifice fly in the second.
Aaron Judge homered in the first and Austin Wells hit a tie-breaking shot in the fifth for the Yankees, who have alternated wins with losses in their last six games.
Judge finished 2-for-4 to raise his average to .432, though he grounded out against Edwin Uceta to end the eighth and strand runners at the corners.
Littell (2-5) gave up three hits and walked none while striking out three but was in line for the hard-luck loss until the Rays rallied against Mark Leiter Jr. (2-3).
Christopher Morel led off with a single and pinch-runner Chandler Simpson stole second on Leiter’s second pitch to Brandon Lowe, who eventually worked a walk. Simpson and Lowe pulled off a double steal before Junior Caminero struck out.
Mead followed with a game-tying single to left and Lowe scored when Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe bobbled Caballero’s grounder while racing to second base for the potential force out.
Trent Grisham led off the bottom of the inning with a single against Garrett Cleavinger and Cody Bellinger singled with two outs before Uceta retired Judge. Pete Fairbanks earned his seventh save with a perfect ninth.
Mead and Morel had two hits apiece for the Rays, who stole six bases in as many attempts off Wells.
New York’s Ryan Yarbrough, who made the emergency start after Clarke Schmidt was scratched due to side soreness, allowed one run on one hit and three walks while striking out two over four innings.
–Field Level Media
