Jose Caballero homered twice against his former team, driving in four runs, as the New York Yankees opened a crucial four-game series against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays with a 5-1 victory on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. The struggling Yankees secured their second win in 11 games behind a dominant pitching performance and a three-homer barrage.
Caballero, a former Rays utility infielder, connected on two solo shots in the fifth and eighth innings, while Ben Rice added a third home run in the ninth. The Yankees managed just three hits, all of which went deep.
Starter Cam Schlittler (9-5) delivered eight innings of work, allowing one run on four hits while striking out eight and walking none. His performance kept the Rays at bay as the Yankees built their lead.
Tampa Bay’s Richie Palacios went 2-for-3 with an RBI single, and Chandler Simpson extended his hitting streak to nine games with an infield single that scored the lone Rays run. However, the team’s offense couldn’t overcome the Yankees’ power surge.
Griffin Jax (4-6) struck out 10 and walked two in five innings, retiring the first 13 batters he faced before succumbing to Caballero’s first homer—a three-run blast that turned a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 lead. The right-hander’s debut for the Rays ended with a mixed result.
Both starting pitchers leaned heavily on high-velocity pitches, with Schlittler topping out at 101 mph and Jax fanning the side in the second inning with upper-90s heat. Despite the power on the mound and at the plate, the Rays fell at home for the first time in 13 games this season.
