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Yankees go for 13th straight home series win over Rays

By Larry Fleisher, The Sports Xchange
Masahiro Tanak and the New York Yankees face the Washington Nationals on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Masahiro Tanak and the New York Yankees face the Washington Nationals on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

NEW YORK -- If there was a bright spot for the New York Yankees on Wednesday, it was Miguel Andujar continuing his candidacy for the American League Rookie of the Year.

Andujar homered and doubled but it was not enough for the Yankees in a 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

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After a rare home loss to the Rays, Andujar and the Yankees try to take their 13th straight home series from their AL East foes on Thursday afternoon.

Andujar enters Thursday with 19 homers, tied for the second-most among rookies with Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. He also has 55 extra-base hits, tops among all first-year players, and enters Thursday hitting .378 (14-for-37) with nine extra-base hits in his last nine games.

"He's come up here as a young player, wasn't given anything in spring training, took this job, has run with the job," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "He's having an amazing rookie season. He's a big reason why we're having a really strong season.

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New York second baseman Gleyber Torres is also expected to be in the lineup after sitting out Wednesday. He is in the first prolonged slump of his career.

Torres is hitless in his last 14 at-bats, has one hit in his last 21 and six hits in his last 49 at-bats.

"I think when you go through a little bit of a funk as a hitter at any point of the season, you start chasing that result a little bit," Boone said. "As soon as he gets back to control the strike zone, go up there and have a good at-bat, the results will follow for him. He's too good."

One player who will not be in the lineup is Aaron Judge, who fractured his right wrist three weeks ago when he was hit by a pitch. The Yankees initially thought Judge would be able to swing at bat three weeks after the injury, but so far Judge is not progressing to that point.

"He will be back at some point and obviously we'll see how he manages it coming out of the gate early," New York general manager Brian Cashman said on WFAN Wednesday. "That's the unknown too. I doubt he hits the ground running. I'm sure at times with a check swing here and there, he might have a little issue to deal with and back off and give it a little more time."

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The Rays will try to win a series in New York for the first time since getting a three-game sweep June 30-July 2, 2014. Mallex Smith fell a triple shy of the cycle to snap an 0-for-11 skid while Brandon Lowe drove in his first two runs with a pair of singles after going hitless in his first 19 at-bats.

Tampa Bay, which is also going for its eighth win in the last 10 games against the Yankees, will get Tommy Pham back from a broken foot. Pham appeared in a rehab game for Class A Hudson Valley on Wednesday and is returning after missing 11 games.

Masahiro Tanaka starts for the Yankees and is coming off his first loss in nearly three months. In Friday's 12-7 loss to the Texas Rangers, Tanaka was rocked for six runs on six hits in five innings.

He was scoreless through three innings before allowing three homers. Tanaka tied season highs in runs allowed and home runs in his first loss since a 9-1 defeat to the Miami Marlins on April 17.

Before Friday, Tanaka was 7-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 14 starts, the third-longest streak by a Yankee since 2005.

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New York went 10-4 in Tanaka's unbeaten streak and one of those games was July 24 in Tampa Bay, when he pitched a three-hitter on 106 pitches. Tanaka is 8-2 with a 3.62 ERA in 12 starts against the Rays and 4-0 with a 2.98 ERA in six home starts against Tampa Bay.

Blake Snell will make his third start since coming off the disabled list due to a stint with left shoulder fatigue and likely will be on a pitch count. He threw 47 pithes in five perfect innings in Saturday's 7-0 win at Toronto.

According to Baseball Reference, it was the fourth time since 1908 a starter was pulled with a perfect game going through at least five innings.

"He was outstanding while he was out there," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Really efficient. Generally, you don't see that with any pitcher, to be that efficient, but Blake had everything going. He attacked, attacked, attacked."

Snell (13-5, 2.18 ERA) has allowed one run or less in six of his last seven starts and 15 times overall. Snell is trying to become the first Tampa Bay pitcher to reach 14 wins since Matt Moore went 17-4 in 2013, even if his outing only lasts five innings.

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"And then when it happens, it happens, because if I know the number," Snell told reporters. "I'll think about it. I think there's only negative that will come from that. I know that it's going to be more than five innings -- that's what I'm hoping -- if I attack the zone and do what I'm supposed to do."

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