The New York Yankees lost the third game to the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night, with a final score of 7-2.
The Yankees lead this four-game set, 2-1, with a goal to win the final and take the series.
The Rays’ best, and only shot is to spilt the series, creeping up on the AL East leading Yankees to just a half-game.
Clearly with nine games remaining after this series wraps up, nothing is set in stone in the AL East.
The Yankees have a tough schedule—playing the Red Sox six times and then the last three in Toronto against the Blue Jays.
The Rays, not so much, face two bottom feeders teams in the Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners sans King Felix and the Baltimore Orioles.
There is not a better face-off than CC Sabathia vs. David Price, which was proved 10 days ago in a literal pitcher’s duel.
Both starter lefties threw eight scoreless innings, allowing five base runners each and ended up with almost identical pitch counts, CC with 119 and Price with 114 respectively.
Price fanned 11 Yankees in a row in the first five innings; Sabathia started his fanning in the third, and finished off 12 Rays in order by the end of the seventh.
I can’t say one out pitched the other that Monday night at Tropicana Field, but I can swear both were incredible.
The Rays won that game with a score of 1-0. The run earned on an 11th inning walk-off home run hit by Reid Brignac.
Let me clarify the Rays out played the Yankees for the win. As for Price and Sabathia, no baseball fan is questioning whether either did their jobs because all you can say is those two are Cy Young aces.
Sabathia is back home, and the Yankee fans will be his biggest weapons against the Rays. Fans are in playoff mode in New York; just ask any Yankee player how great it is to be back in the Bronx.
PREDICTION:
Yankees win 3-1. Sabathia wins his 21st start.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com