ST. PETERSBURG – José Caballero unloaded several games’ worth of frustration on the basepaths late on Saturday, delivering a pair of big hits to prime the stalled Yankees lineup. It still wasn’t enough.
Caballero drove in three runs against his former club, delivering go-ahead knocks in the eighth and 10th innings, but Jonathan Aranda got the last word in a 5-4, 10-inning loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field. It was the Yankees’ fourth straight loss.
Aranda’s chopped single to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. came off David Bednar, the third New York reliever after Max Fried completed eight innings of three-run ball. The decisive small-ball rally featured two bunts and ultimately a five-man infield, with Bednar recording only one out.
Entrusted with starting duties at shortstop while Anthony Volpe recovers from offseason surgery, Caballero has battled through a 6-for-44 (.136) start at the plate, though he has had plenty of company in that regard – especially near the bottom of the Bombers’ batting order.
Caballero’s biggest hit of the season thus far came off reliever Bryan Baker, a 2-0 slider that Caballero lashed to send home Chisholm and pinch-runner Randal Grichuk in the eighth to give New York a 3-2 lead.
Austin Wells hit a second-inning homer that, for most of the contest, stood as New York’s only support behind Fried. The left-hander has been a reliable stopper over his year-plus with the Yanks, entering with an 11-1 record and 1.82 ERA in 16 starts after a loss (12-4).
Jonny DeLuca touched Fried for a run-scoring single in the second inning and Aranda lifted a sixth-inning sacrifice fly, a frame that featured a couple of nice defensive plays by Cody Bellinger in left field.