ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Rays did what they could Friday afternoon to tamp down expectations and defuse the hype over the weekend series with the struggling Yankees. Almost to a man, they insisted they were focused only on winning Friday’s game and not the rapidly shrinking margin between them and first place in the American League East.
Then the Rays went out and further fueled the conversation and turned up the heat by beating the Yankees, 9-0, cutting the once mighty lead to five games (and four in the loss column).
David Peralta singled in a run in a sloppy Yankees fourth inning and Christian Bethancourt hit a two-run homer in the seventh before a Rays’ onslaught (six runs) in the eighth. Jeffery Springs delivered a strong start, and JT Chargois, Colin Poche, Jason Adam and Calvin Faucher provided the relief.
