Rays Take Game One
Tampa Bay took the 7-3 victory over AL East Divisional rivals the New York Yankees.
Backed by the strong outing by electric pitcher, Chris Archer, the Rays were able to power themselves to a forceful win. Archer went seven innings only allowing two Earned Runs and seven base hits. He was backed out of the bullpen by the strong arms of Danny Farquhar and Alex Colome. With the exception of Chase Headley and Starlin Castro, the Rays pitching staff only allowed two other hits the entire game.
Yankees' ace, Masahiro Tanaka led all spring training starters in efficiency with only allowing one Earned Run in 23.2 innings worth of appearances. Tanaka looked to bounce back from a rough 2016 season on opening day this year, however the Rays had other plans for him.
The Rays were able to jump out to an early lead verse the star pitcher from Japan, with an Evan Longoria sacrifice fly, scoring Corey Dickerson in the 1st inning. Logan Morrison then drove in an additional two runs with a hard single up the middle. The Yankees were able to steal back two more to shorten the deficit, but Archer would remain dominant for the rest of the game, not surrendering anymore runs for his next five innings pitched. Evan Longoria added two RBIs to his early year stats, with his first homerun of the year (first official home run of the 2017 MLB season for all players), followed by Logan Morrison's solo shot to center, continuing his hot opening day. Mallex Smith was able to single in Tim Beckham on a bunt, increasing the lead to 7-2 in favor of the Rays. Austin Pruitt was unable to close the game out, exiting with a potential earned run to the Yankee squad. Alex Colome retired the side giving up the run to the inherited runner and the Rays ended the game as the ONLY TEAM IN THE MLB WITH A WIN!!
The Rays look to take the second straight game of the series from the Yankees, backed by pitcher Jake Odorizzi and the hot offense.
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