Even a near-vintage performance from Gerrit Cole in his return wasn’t enough to prevent the Yankees from losing their third straight and falling a season-high 5 ½ games back of the Rays.
The Yankees wasted six scoreless innings from their ace in his first outing after recovering from March 2025 Tommy John surgery in a 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay in The Bronx.
The culprits on Friday were another unproductive night from the lineup and a shaky performance out of the bullpen against a Rays team that has the best record in the majors, has won five in a row and won all four meetings against the Yankees this season.
Cole was removed after just 72 pitches, replaced by Brent Headrick.
A Houdini act by Fernando Cruz kept the Rays from scoring in the inning and protected the Yankees’ one-run lead provided by Austin Wells’ fifth-inning solo homer.
But Tim Hill fell apart an inning later, as the lefty allowed four runs — three earned — without retiring a batter in the eighth.
The Rays’ rally started with José Caballero, in his first game back from the IL, making an error by booting Chandler Simpson’s grounder to shortstop to lead off the inning.
Junior Caminero followed with a base hit up the middle to give the Rays runners on the corners with no one out.
Hill then gave up a double to Jonathan Aranda to tie the game, and after an intentional walk to Yandy Diaz loaded the bases, Richie Palacios hit a chopper that Hill deflected past Caballero.
The play scored two runs to put the Rays ahead, and a sacrifice fly by Ryan Vilade off Camilo Doval made it 4-1.
Hill’s ugly outing made the Yankees lineup’s ongoing issues only look worse.
The Yankees bats, shut out by Toronto on Thursday after scoring just a run in Wednesday’s loss, were mostly silent again.
They had a chance to take an early lead, as Trent Grisham — back in the lineup after suffering left knee discomfort — opened the bottom of the first with a double to left.
Aaron Judge walked, but Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger popped out and Paul Goldschmidt grounded to second.
Grisham led off the third with his second double of the game, this time he was thrown out trying to score on a Ben Rice single to right.
Jonny DeLuca’s throw beat Grisham to the plate to keep the game scoreless.
Wells, in a 3-for-38 slump, took Fordham’s own Nick Martinez deep to right-center to lead off the bottom of the fifth. It was the only run allowed by the right-hander, whose ERA remained 1.51.
They got a run back in the bottom of the eighth.
Bellinger doubled with one out and Jazz Chisholm Jr. drove him in with a triple to right-center to make it 4-2.
Caballero grounded out to strand Chisholm.
Wells walked with one out in the ninth and moved to second on a Grisham groundout.
Aaron Judge ripped a fly bal to left center, where Cedric Mullins caught up to it on the warning track to end it.
Still, Cole’s performance was encouraging.
Boone made it clear what it meant to the Yankees to have Cole on the mound again: “We’re excited to get our ace back.”
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He looked every bit as good as the Yankees remembered and allowed two hits and three walks.
He started off with a 96-mph four-seam fastball to Simpson before the speedster poked a single over shortstop to lead off the game.
A walk to Caminero put the Yankees and Cole in a dangerous spot, but Cole got Simpson leaning off second and got him caught in a rundown for the second out before the right-hander struck out Diaz looking to end the inning.
The right-hander, who was initially expected to make one more minor league rehab start before his return to the Yankees rotation, was certainly major-league ready.
After allowing a leadoff walk in the second, Cole retired the next 10 batters he faced before Mullins’ one-out single in the fifth.
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