Yankees Defeat Rays

Asking for the exceptional might have been a bit much. These Yankees, humbled over the season's first week by inconsistent pitching and even shakier hitting, would have been pleased by any sort of victory. So, though Chien-Ming Wang retired 11 straight Rays before allowing a hit on Sunday afternoon, the Yankees might have been a bit more interested in the overall result. Thanks to Wang's pitching, New York overcame yet another slow offensive day to beat Tampa Bay, 2-0, at Yankee Stadium. Offense came in one short spurt for the Yankees, who scored both of their runs on Hideki Matsui's two-run home run in the fourth. Alex Rodriguez had doubled earlier in the inning, providing one of the few early baserunners the Yankees could muster against Rays starter James Shields. They eventually touched Shields for eight hits in total. Wang, towing a high pitch count throughout the middle innings, left after allowing the first two batters in the seventh inning to single. No problem there, as Joba Chamberlain came on to strike out one and induce a line-drive double play, ending the threat. Wang threw 96 pitches over his six innings, striking out six and walking two. Highlighted by multi-hit games from Matsui and second baseman Robinson Cano, the Yankees did manage to reach base often on Sunday afternoon, something they haven't done throughout the season's first week. Those hits didn't translate into runs, however, marking the fifth time in six games the offense has mustered three or fewer runs. And impressive performance by the Yankees today.