Yankees Hit 5 Homers, Survive Bullpen Meltdown in 10-6 Win Over Rays

The New York Yankees got six scoreless innings from starter Luis Gil and hit five home runs in a 10-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.

New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino hit two home runs on Sunday. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

ST. PETERBURG, Fla. — It's not very often that you rave about a starting pitcher in a 10-6 baseball game, but that was certainly the case with New York Yankees right-hander Luis Gil on Sunday.

Gil, a 25-year-old from the Dominica Republic, pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just three hits to the Tampa Bay Rays. It was his third straight impressive outing in May — he's given up just one run and six hits over 18 1/3 innings — and left with a six-run lead.

But the Yankees gave up five runs in the seventh and needed a late rally of their own to put the game away. The 10-6 victory clinched the series for New York (27-15), and moved them to within a half-game of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East race.

"He struggled a little bit early with some strike-throwing, but he's just really hard to hit,'' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Gil. ''I thought as he went on, his strike-throwing got really solid and he was in command. He won some 3-2 counts with some good pitches in the strike zone. He had his stuff today, good life on his fastball and his change-up was good.

"He's so big and long out there and the ball really gets on you (as a hitter). He's got velocity and characteristics, and a real presence with his secondary (pitches) that you have to respect. Hitters tell you a lot, and they're overwhelmed just by his stuff.''

Gil is now 4-1 on the season and has a 2.51 ERA. He beat the Rays earlier this season too.

The Yankees needed him to be as good as he was. They were cruising, dashing out to a 6-0 lead through five innings off of Rays' No. 5 starter Tyler Alexander. They scored on four pitches in the first inning, with lead-off hitter Anthony Volpe hitting a triple into the righrt corner and then scoring on a sacrifice fly from Juan Soto.

Then the homers started coming. Seldom-used Jahmai Jones hit his first career home run, a solo shot, in the third inning, and then catcher Jose Trevino and center fielder Aaron Judge followed with two-run homers in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.

It looked like a walk in the part for the Yankees, but lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson ran into all sorts of trouble in the seventh. He gave up a single to Richie Palacios and a double to Jonny DeLuca, then walked catcher Ben Rortvedt to load the bases. No. 9 hitter Jose Siri, who came into the game hitting .165, smacked a 1-2 fastball into the seats in left-center to make it 6-4. The Rays tacked on another run to get within 6-5, but then the Yankees' bats got hot again with a big answer of their own after the Tampa Bay rally

They scored four runs in the eighth inning, roughing up Tampa Bay relievers Shawn Armstrong and Erasmo Ramirez. Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres hit a three-run homer and Trevino answered with his second homer of the game, a solo shot.

Yandy Diaz hit his second home run in two days in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little and too late. The Rays fell to 20-21 on the season.

Gil was thrilled with his outing and his fourth straight win. It also secured the series. The Yankees are now 10-2-1 in their first 13 series and it's just the fifth time in 66 years that New York has won 10 of its first 13 series.

"The real important thing about today's game was to get through six innings. I was able to get a lot of outs today,'' Gil said. "That's what it's all about, just keep adding to your routine and get the results we need.''

The Yankees are off on Monday and start a three-game series in Minnesota on Tuesday. The Rays hit the road as well, starting a four-game series in Boston on Monday night against the Red Sox.

The Rays are now 2-4 against the Yankees this season. They finished this homestand with a 6-3 mark.

"Gil is really tough, and he's only going to get better with that stuff,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "It took a lot of good at-bats for us to get (back in the game) there, and I'm happy for Jose, because he's been struggling.

"I thought we played really well in the first two series and then I still think we did some good things today. We're heading into this road trip (to Boston and Toronto) a better team than we were when we came here.''

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• WATCH JONES' FIRST HOMER: New York Yankees utility man Jahmai Jones, who was once a top 100 prospect with the Los Angeles Angels, blasted the first home run of his MLB career Sunday. CLICK HERE

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