ST. PETERSBURG -- Before Saturday¡¯s game, Willy Adames said he hoped the Rays could get some ¡°revenge¡± against Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, who was the winning pitcher for the Astros in Game 5 of the 2019 American League Division Series.

That wasn¡¯t the case, as Tyler Glasnow struggled against Cole¡¯s new team in the Yankees¡¯ 8-4 win over the Rays in the first game of Saturday¡¯s seven-inning doubleheader at Tropicana Field.

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¡°Glasnow just didn¡¯t have that rhythm that he needs to go out there and stay consistent and kind of stay within himself,¡± said Rays manager Kevin Cash. ¡°It looked like the tempo was really fast paced and [he] couldn¡¯t quite get the pitches where he wanted and they drove the pitch count up.¡±

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Glasnow, who was the Rays¡¯ pitcher in last year¡¯s Game 5 loss and a former teammate of Cole¡¯s in Pittsburgh, was also looking forward to the challenge, but the right-hander struggled on Saturday, allowing four earned runs over just 2 2/3 innings.

Glasnow needed just eight pitches to get through a scoreless first inning, but the Yankees offense settled in and made the right-hander work. Glasnow needed 31 pitches to get through the second, escaping from a bases-loaded, one-out jam by striking out Gary S¨¢nchez and Brett Gardner. In the third, however, Glasnow threw 32 pitches but was only able to record two outs as the Yankees put up four runs, led by a 437-foot two-run homer by Mike Ford.

¡°I felt that even in my first two [innings], I just feel similar to my last two starts; I¡¯m just kind of fighting myself,¡± Glasnow said. ¡°Mentally, I felt like I was competing relatively well, but I just couldn¡¯t get anything to really time up, but I just think it¡¯s kind of a work in progress and I just have to keep going and get them next time.¡±

A lack of command played a big part of Glasnow¡¯s struggles in the third. Glasnow heavily relies on a fastball-curveball combination, but he lost feel on both of his go-to pitches. Glasnow threw the four-seamer 20 times in the third and only landed 11 for strikes.

The curveball, which Glasnow usually uses as a putaway pitch, also lacked command in the frame, with eight of the 12 resulting in balls. One of the four that Glasnow did land in the zone was a hanger on a 2-2 count to Gio Urshela, and the Yankees infielder deposited it into the left-center gap for a two-run double.

¡°When I can¡¯t really throw a curveball for a strike, I have like one option, one and a half options, just like a little bit of a changeup,¡± Glasnow said. ¡°If I go 2-0 and I get behind on guys, everybody in the building knows what¡¯s coming. I just have to do a better job of filling up the zone early, but like I said, it will come.¡±

Offensively, the Rays struggled to get anything going against Cole in the first four innings, but they mounted a three-run, two-out rally in the fifth to chase the Yankees right-hander after just 4 2/3 innings.

Ji-Man Choi and Mike Zunino, two of Tampa Bay's hitters who have struggled the most to start the season, contributed to the attack with a pair of doubles in the fifth, encouraging signs for a sluggish Rays offense. Zunino's double snapped an 0-for-23 skid and it was his first hit since July 27.

¡°Ji-Man smoked two balls and that¡¯s really encouraging,¡± Cash said. ¡°He¡¯s a big part of our offense, and good to see him get going.¡±