Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees Box Score on Sep 26, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 27, 2017

NEW YORK -- Jordan Montgomery survived an eventful first inning and pitched six effective innings as the New York Yankees clinched at least home-field advantage in next week's wild-card game with a 6-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

Aaron Hicks returned from a second disabled list stint due to an oblique injury and had an eventful start. He helped Montgomery by leaping in front of the 385-foot sign to rob Wilson Ramos of a grand slam.

Hicks also drew three walks and lost his belt after stealing second base, but was lifted from the game after striking out in the sixth.

After the action in the first, Montgomery (9-7) settled down and allowed one run on six hits. He struck out five and walked one in a 79-pitch outing.

Pitching for the first time since tossing six scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 16, Montgomery completed six innings for the 11th time and lowered his ERA to 3.96.

Starlin Castro homered for the Yankees (88-69), who won for the 10th time in 13 games and moved to within three games of the Boston Red Sox in the American League East.

Hicks and Aaron Judge drew bases-loaded walks while Ronald Torreyes scored on a wild pitch. Judge upped his RBI total to 109 while Gary Sanchez reached 90 RBIs with a single in the eighth.

Matt Holliday drove in New York's final run with a run-scoring infield single.

The Rays lost for the 11th time in 17 games and were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Tampa Bay's Blake Snell (4-7) lasted one-plus innings and was charged with four runs. He lost for the first time since July 24, ending a streak of 10 unbeaten starts.

NOTES: New York RHP Adam Warren (back spasms) threw two innings during a simulated game without difficulty. When he does return, manager Joe Girardi said Warren would likely appear in two games before the postseason. ... Tampa Bay INF Matt Duffy (heel) played three innings and took three at-bats in an instructional league game Monday. ... Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson watched batting practice on the field and posed for pictures with 3B Todd Frazier. ... Tampa Bay 3B Evan Longoria went 0-for-3 and is hitless in his last 10 at-bats.