Taj Bradley shines in debut as Rays offense falters — Yankees 2, Rays 0

Ump show puts Rays back below .500 in the 9th.

We had another close, hard nosed baseball game between the Yankees last night at Tropicana Field.

Taj Bradley looked very strong in his first start for the Rays this season, going six innings and striking out seven.

The only caveat of the outing was that he was not aggressive in the zone to Aaron Judge, walking him twice.

Judge’s second free pass in the fourth proved to be costly, as the Yankees captain would plate the first run of the game courtesy of an Anthony Rizzo single. 1-0 Bronx Bombers.

It was an otherwise low scoring affair thanks to some slick defense.

The Rays bullpen would take over after six strong innings and Bradley was relieved, holding the Yankees scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings, except for a Rizzo homer off of a low-and-in cutter from Shawn Armstrong, thanks to more strong defense.

As far as the Rays’ offense, it was slow to get going all game, mainly getting in the way of itself. A picked off baserunner and two more caught stealing by Jose Treviño kept the Rays scoreless for 24 outs.

Clay Holmes would enter in the ninth to try and preserve the New York’s 2-0 lead, and things would get interesting, to say the least.

Yandy Diaz would lead off the bottom of the ninth and walk, Randy Arozarena would strike out on a foul tip. Josh Lowe would walk, and Issac Paredes would march to the plate as the winning run.

On a 2-2 count with runners on first and second, home plate umpire Junior Valentine rang up Paredes on a questionable call with the pitch being both low and outside.

With two outs in the inning, Austin Shelton would single to load the bases, and Jonny DeLuca would strike out, ending the Rays chances in the ninth. Clay Holmes would record his 12th save, and the Yankees would hold on to win 2-0.