The Heater

Rays blow another save, then another game, lose 4-3 to Yanks in 11

8:15PM

  The Rays gave away another ninth inning lead and then another game on Saturday before 25,874 at the Trop.
  The end result was a 4-3 11-inning loss to the Yankees, as Lyle Overbay hit a no-doubt homer off Josh Lueke to put the Yankees ahead. Mariano Rivera worked the 11th for the save.
 The Rays looked to have the game won in the 9th, when they handed closer Fernando Rodney a 3-1 lead and he got two quick outs. But Rodney continued his struggles and blew the save, his fifth, allowing a two-out walk and then two hits.
   LHP Matt Moore didn't improve to 9-0, but gave the Rays a good start, allowing only one run to the Yankees while working six innings. The Rays tied it in the fifth, on doubles by C Jose Molina and CF Desmond Jennings.
   The score remained 1-1 until the 7th, when the Rays rallied on a single by James Loney and a double by Matt Joyce then scored one run on a pinch-hit single by Kelly Johnson, vs. lefty Boone Logan, and then a fielder's choice grounder by Yunel Escobar that scored Matt Joyce, who made a good slide to avoid the tag.
     Jake McGee and Joel Peralta worked impressively in relief to put the game in Rodney's hands.
    The Rays dropped to 24-24 3 and look to avoid being swept in Sunday's 1:40 finale with Alex Cobb facing the Yankees' CC Sabathia....

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