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NEW YORK – If the Yankees were to manage the next two items on their to-do list, gain entry to the American League’s wild card game and then win this contest, their reward would be a best-of-five showdown against the Rays in the American League Division Series.
Friday’s effort was a reminder of how difficult it will be. Held against Giancarlo Stanton’s first-inning RBI single on eight frames, the Yankees’ ninth-inning rally flopped as they opened the final homestand of the regular season with a 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay at the Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees’ lead for the Wild Card was reduced to a game against the Red Sox, who won in Washington. The Blue Jays also won, beating the Orioles, and they are one game behind the Red Sox with two regular season games remaining. The Mariners, who face the Angels on the West Coast, are half a game behind Boston. New York’s magic number to clinch a spot on the Wild Card remained at two.
Nestor Cortes started for the Yankees, limiting Tampa Bay to two runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings. Nelson Cruz hit a home run in the first inning, his 32nd, and Kevin Kiermaier hit an RBI single in the second inning against Cortes. The left-hander didn’t walk and put out five strikes.
Rays starter Shane McClanahan pitched three innings, hit in the first by Gleyber Torres’ brace – a 111.6 mph ball that marked the hardest hit ball of the infielder’s career. Stanton continued his stretch by hitting Torres at home, but the Yanks were limited to three singles until the ninth.
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