Yankees struggle against Rays' offensive power in loss
- The Yankees suffered a 7-2 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field.
- Nestor Cortes struggled with his fastball, allowing Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena to hit home runs.
- The bottom-of-the-order bats were not enough to save the Yankees in this game.
Cortes struggled to throw his fastball well during the game against the Rays. He gave up two home runs because of this, leading to a 7-2 win for the Rays. Cortes mentioned that it's hard to pitch in the league without a good fastball. He felt like every time he threw a fastball, it got hit hard. This made it difficult for him to establish his fastball early in the game. The Yankees were behind 4-2 in the seventh inning when Juan Soto almost hit a home run that could have put them ahead. However, the ball fell short of the center-field wall. The Rays then scored more runs in the bottom of the inning against reliever Dennis Santana. Diaz and Arozarena played key roles in this. Diaz had a strong performance against Cortes, hitting a home run in the first pitch of the game. Arozarena followed with a three-run home run, extending the Rays' lead. Cortes struggled with his fastball command, which affected his performance. He left the game after 5.1 innings, giving up four earned runs. The Yankees responded with a two-run single by Anthony Volpe in the second inning. Despite some defensive mistakes, the Rays managed to score more runs off Cortes in the third inning. Cortes acknowledged his early struggles with command but felt he improved after making some adjustments. Cortes expressed frustration with some calls not going his way during the game. His ERA increased to 4.02 after this game. Although he has performed well at Yankee Stadium this season, his road ERA has been higher. The Yankees will rely on Luis Gil in the next game against the Rays before heading to Minnesota for their next series.