Alliance... » Didi Gregorius was pleased after ending a long power outage

CC Sabathia was just surprised David Long Jersey , not realizing why the crowd gave him a prolonged ovation in the fourth inning of a superb outing.

Playing a team with a winning record for the first time this month, the New York Yankees beat the Washington Nationals 3-0 Tuesday night for their 10th win in 12 games.

In a matchup of division leaders, Harper gave the Nationals a scare when he fell to the ground in pain after getting hit on the right elbow by a 90 mph pitch from Sabathia in the fifth inning. The 2015 NL MVP remained in the game but then came out after he was hit on the left foot by Dellin Betances‘ 89 mph slider leading off the eighth.

”I feel fine. Elbow feels OK, and the big toe just hurts a little bit,” Harper said. ”I already got an X-ray on the toe. I’m fine.”

Gregorius has had a ”That’s Life” season, following the song’s lyrics of ”You’re riding high in April, shot down in May.”

He hit .327 with 10 homers and 30 RBIs through the season’s first full month, slumped to a .151 average with one homer and five RBIs in May and began the night with no homers and one RBI in June.

”It’s just getting to know myself through that slump,” he said. ”I’m still not out of it.”

He drove a hanging curveball from Tanner Roark (3-7) into the Yankees bullpen in right-center during a two-run second that also included Austin Romine’s sacrifice fly. It was just the second home run for Gregorius since April 27.

He sent a fastball into the right-field second deck leading off the sixth for his fourth multihomer game, third this season. Gregorius has hit 11 of his 13 long balls in homer-friendly Yankee Stadium. New York leads the major leagues with 105.

”When Didi’s at his best,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone explained, ”he’s into the ground – his feet really drive into the ground.”

A big league-best 43-19, New York was coming off a 7-2 trip. Sabathia (4-1) allowed four hits over 5 2/3 innings in his first outing against Washington since 2009 and lowered his ERA to 3.27. He is 11-0 in 17 regular-season starts following a Yankees loss since the start of the 2017 season.

Fans applauded at length in the fourth when the video board informed fans the strikeout of Michael A. Taylor was Sabathia’s 1,500th since joining the Yankees for the 2009 season. The 37-year-old left-hander’s three strikeouts raised his career total to 2 http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/bobby-evans-jersey ,893.

”I didn’t know what was going on, and Ro told me turn around,” Sabathia said, referring to Romine.

Only then did Sabathia toss the ball to the dugout as a keepsake. Boone wasn’t surprised by Sabathia’s obliviousness to his own exploits.

”For being a superstar and everything, he’s so not into himself,” Boone said.

Chad Green, Betances and Aroldis Chapman finished up, with Chapman completing the five-hitter for his 18th save in 19 chances.

Harper, who leads the NL with 19 homers but is hitting .215 since May 1, had been hit by a pitch just once previously this season and had not been dinged twice in a game since Aug. 16, 2013, at Atlanta.

”Kind of worried me when he started walking off the field,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said.

A free-agent-to-be, Harper had walked in his first two plate appearances.

”It just hurt Greg Gaines Jersey , so trying to walk down the first base line, there was no point,” he said. ”No ill feelings at all.”

MURPH’S BACK

Nationals All-Star second baseman Daniel Murphy made his season debut after recovering from right knee surgery on Oct. 20. He was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts as the designated hitter and did not hit the ball out of the infield.

”His timing could have been a little bit off,” Martinez said. ”He’s going to be fine.”

FAMILY FEUD

Bob Boone, father of the Yankees manager, is a Nationals executive and rooted against his son.

”They pay him,” Aaron Boone said. ”My boys are actually with my mom and dad in San Diego right now. They flew in today, so it’ll be a split household. I know my mom will be pulling for me. And my boys will be pulling for me, that’s for sure. So that’s fine. Somebody in the house can cheer for the other team.”

GREAT GRAB

Taylor made a terrific catch on the warning track to snag Neil Walker’s drive with a runner on in the fourth, sliding into the wall with both legs. Taylor stole second two innings later, then was called out on a replay review.

RESTING

Washington gave 19-year-old outfielder Juan Soto his first game off since his major league debut on May 20. He is hitting .328 with three homers and eight RBIs.

MOVING AROUND

Brandon Drury shifted to 1B from 3B in the second game of Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s doubleheader.

”Adding some versatility to his game certainly, yeah, puts him in a better position to be able to help our club again at some point,” Boone said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: RHP Luis Cessa will get a few more rehab starts. The 26-year-old right-hander Christian Wilkins Jersey , sidelined since mid-April by a left oblique strain, allowed two runs over 1 2/3 innings for Class A Tampa on Monday night.

UP NEXT

RHP Sonny Gray (4-4, 4.81 ERA) starts Wednesday night for the Yankees after allowing two runs and three hits over seven innings to win at Toronto last week. RHP Erick Fedde will be broug Ryne Stanek is set for a new role in the Tampa Bay rotation – sort of.

The reliever will likely now start two out of every five games in the Rays‘ ongoing bullpen-day experiment.

Wilson Ramos homered, six Tampa Bay relievers combined for a five-hitter and the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Tuesday night.

With right-handers Chris Archer and Jake Faria on the disabled list, Tampa Bay is using relievers to start three times through the rotation.

Stanek opened the game, striking out three in two perfect innings, and was followed by Austin Pruitt (2 2/3 innings), Jonny Venters (one-third of an inning), Chaz Roe (1 1/3 innings), Jose Alvarado (1 2/3 innings) and Sergio Romo (one inning).

”We won, so it’s a pretty good day,” Stanek said. ”It’s like anything, the more you do something, the more comfortable you’re going to be. It’s definitely starting to become a little more normal. It’s not really coming like a surprise.”

It was Stanek’s fourth start.

”Stanek set the tone http://www.miamidolphinsteamonline.com/michael-deiter-jersey ,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. ”The big story of the game was the bullpen, how they pieced it together.”

Pruitt (2-3) allowed four hits and a run but picked up the win. Romo allowed the other hit but locked down his second save.

”It’s always fun seeing guys come in behind you and get the job done,” Pruitt said.

Tampa Bay has won three of four following an eight-game skid.

Ramos put the Rays up 2-0 with his two-run drive off Jaime Garcia (2-5) in the third.

Garcia gave up four runs, four hits, four walks and struck out four in five-plus innings. The left-hander is 1-4 in seven road starts, allowing 28 earned runs over 31 1/3 innings.

”I competed and tried to make pitches,” Garcia said. ”There’s a couple of walks there that I’ve got to do a better there.”

Garcia departed after C.J Cron walked and went to third on Willy Adames‘ double to start the sixth. Pinch-hitter Joey Wendle and Mallex Smith both had run-scoring singles off Joe Biagini that made it 4-1.

Toronto had runners on second and third with no outs in the fifth but scored just once on Devon Travis‘ grounder off Pruitt.

”We had a chance to tie it, and then who knows?” Toronto manager John Gibbons said.

The Blue Jays have been held to one run or fewer 11 times.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: 3B Josh Donaldson (left calf tightness) remains day to day. … RHP Marcus Stroman (shoulder) will make a rehab start Wednesday night with Class A Dunedin.

Rays: CF Kevin Kiermaier (right thumb torn ligament) went 2 for 4 with a walk in his first minor league rehab game with Class A Charlotte and hopes to be back June 22. … OF Johnny Field (sore knee) was available off the bench.

HOUSE OF HORRORS

The Blue Jays have dropped the first two games in the three-game set and are 73-105 at Tropicana Field. It’s the most losses at any road ballpark since 1998, the Rays’ inaugural season. ”They’ve always held us in check down here,” Gibbons said. ”I don’t care what the roster is, I don’t care what team is here. It’s always kind of been that way.”

REACHING A DECADE

Romo reached 10 years of major league service time Monday and was given a postgame celebration by his teammates. ”A pretty awesome day,” Romo said.

UP NEXT

Tampa Bay RHP Wilmer Font (0-1) will start another bullpen game Wednesday against Blue Jays LHP J.A. Happ (8-3).

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