Bauers does it all as Rays escape vs. Yanks

ST. PETERSBURG -- Seven runs, seven pitchers and some last-minute heroics paved the way for a dramatic 7-6 Rays win over the Yankees on Monday night at Tropicana Field.
"I think the story of the game is that we scored seven runs on a Luis Severino start," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "When you do that, you should win."
With the help of savvy defense, José Alvarado escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the ninth inning to close it out and record his fourth save of the season.

The Yankees (63-34) have now lost each of the four games they've played at Tropicana Field this season, while the Rays have won back-to-back games, moving to two games over .500 at 51-49.
Jake Bauers ignited the Rays' offense from the beginning, doubling off Severino, the Yankees' ace, with two outs in the first. Bauers then scored from second base on a passed ball that kicked off catcher Gary Sánchez's leg and scooted into foul territory on the third-base side, putting the Rays up, 1-0.

"Everything was right in front of me there," Bauers said. "I saw it kick pretty far away. Hustled to get to third, then once I got to third, I saw that tight window that was there and decided to take a chance. In the first inning, I would have told you that hits off Severino are hard to come by so you have to take a chance when you get one."
Then, with two aboard in the fifth, the rookie first baseman connected on a 1-1 pitch from Severino and deposited the ball into the right-field stands for his sixth homer of the season, giving the Rays a 4-1 lead.
Severino allowed a career-high 11 hits, the most by a Yankees starter since Michael Pineda on June 22, 2015, and although only six were earned, the seven runs Severino surrendered were tied for the second most of his career.

"I was feeling good; everything was there," Severino said. "The changeup, the slider. … I made a couple of mistakes in the middle. [The Rays] have been playing good the last couple of weeks, so you can't make those kind of mistakes."
But the Yankees' offense kept the heat on throughout the game, and the fact that Rays pitchers walked six forced Cash's hand. He had to keep shuffling his bullpen, hoping to find someone who could throw strikes.
"We have young pitchers who are learning their way at the big league level, and that's a good thing," Cash said. "Hopefully they can respond from that and realize that you cannot walk good teams. You are going to pay, and we paid. We went through our entire bullpen, but it's a win."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
With the bases full and two outs in the top of the ninth, Alvarado got Sanchez to ground sharply to second baseman Daniel Robertson, whose flip to shortstop Willy Adames was too late to get Aaron Hicks. But Adames spun and fired to first to get Sanchez, who needed 5.39 seconds to reach first base. Sanchez's fastest time to first base this season is 4.33 seconds, a play on which he beat out a double play.
"Extremely heads-up, extremely heads-up," said Bauers of Adames' play. "That's how you win games right there, with plays like that. He's the guy who is going to make plays like that."
HOT AT HOME
Since June 11, the Rays are 16-3 (.842) at Tropicana Field, the second-best record in the Major Leagues over the span behind the Red Sox.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Didi Gregorius grounded to first with two outs in the first, but Bauers couldn't handle the shot. No problem -- the ball ricocheted to Robertson, who threw to pitcher Hunter Wood at first for the third out.

HE SAID IT
"Up and down, up and down, back and forth. Picked each other up. Guys picked me up after my error [in the sixth]. Back and forth. We kept battling. Another huge win for us." -- Robertson, on the win
CHIRINOS TO BE RECALLED
The Rays will recall right-hander Yonny Chirinos from Triple-A Durham to start Tuesday night's game, which will be his first Major League appearance since April 28. Chirinos, who went on the DL with a right forearm strain on May 1, is 0-2 with a 4.96 ERA in nine Minor League starts this season. Lefty Adam Kolarek was optioned to Durham to make room on the roster for Chirinos.
UP NEXT
Chirinos (0-1, 3.71 ERA) will get the nod on Tuesday night when the Rays host the Yankees in a 7:10 ET contest at Tropicana Field. Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (7-2, 4.54 ERA) will start for the Yankees.