By: Stephen Patterson
The AL East leading New York Yankees fell to the Tampa Bay Rays today 3-0 behind a balanced offensive effort and strong pitching from James Shields. Given the day off, Alex Rodriguez made an appearance as a pinch hitter for the Yankees and struck only in his only at bat. His next chance to join the 600 career home run club will come tomorrow night in New York against the Toronto Blue Jays.
A-Rod has struggled mightily in his attempt to hit home run No. 600, and has gone without one since July 22. The struggles appear to only be mental, and I'd expect him to reach the milestone sometime during the series with the Blue Jays with the Yankees back at home. A-Rod came to bat in the 7th and took a called strike with a 3-2 count. He remained on the field for the remainder of the game but never made it back to the plate.
Shields pitched an amazing game for the Rays, striking out 11 batters over 7 1/3 innings and allowing zero runs. After the game, he said "It was one of my better games, no doubt about it". He only allowed four hits against New York's imposing line-up. Shields out-dueled counterpart C.C. Sabathia, who gave up three runs and eight hits. Sabathia has now lost two consecutive starts are winning his previous nine in a row.The two teams are the best in baseball at the moment, and Tampa won two of the three games in the series, giving them an obvious confidence boost. I don't think the series will have any lasting effects on the Yankees, however, as I expect them to catch fire over the next several weeks after their new acquisitions get accustomed to playing with their new team.
