Brain McCann and Alex Rodriguez's back-to-back shots led the New York Yankees to a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays today at Yankee Stadium.

Ivan Nova improved to 6-7 on the season as he gave up three earned runs in six innings of work, striking out three batters. Tampa ace Chris Archer was off his game this afternoon and fell to 12-11 on the season. He went 6.1 innings where he allowed five runs (four earned), while striking out five and walking three batters.

Prior to the sixth inning of this game, Archer was an enigma the Yankees could not seem to solve but they finally cracked him in the sixth inning. This was Chris Archer’s first loss to the Yankees in his career.  Andrew Miller got his 31st save of the season for the Yankees in this one.

The Rays broke through first in the second inning when Kevin Kiermaier took Ivan Nova deep with Asdrubal Cabrera on base to make it a 2-0 game. The Rays would add another in the third inning when Logan Forsythe singled home Daniel Nava to make it a 3-0 game.

In the sixth inning, after a Jacoby Ellsbury single and a Carlos Beltran walk, Brian McCann tied the game up at three with one swing of the bat with an absolute bomb to right field. Chris Archer turned around after the pitch and watched the ball while grabbing on to his hat in disgust. The very next batter was Alex Rodriguez who put the Yankees up for good with a solo shot to right field to make it a 4-3 game.

In the seventh inning, the Yankees once again got on the board when Brett Gardner hit into a fielder’s choice scoring Didi Gregorius. The Rays would get one back in the eighth when Asdrubal Cabrera took Dellin Betances deep to make it a 5-4 game. However, in the bottom of the eighth Didi Gregorius would single home Rico Noel to make it a 6-4 game and secure a series victory over the division rival Rays.

The Toronto Blue Jays beat up on the Baltimore Orioles 10-4 today, keeping the Yankees 1.5 games back of the Blue Jays for 1st place in the AL East. The Yankees remain four games up on the Texas Rangers would hold the second Wild Card spot. With the loss the Rays fall 11 games behind the Jays for first place in the AL East.

The Yankees have another afternoon game tomorrow for Labor Day against the Orioles, who start a three-game set together in the Bronx. The Yankees send Michael Pineda to the mound, while the Orioles send Wei Yin Chen to the bump. The Rays go to Detroit for an afternoon game tomorrow with Drew Smyly going for the Rays, while the Tigers go with Randy Wolf on the mound. 

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About the author
Max ONeill
My name Is Max ONeill, I am currently a Senior at York Prep in NYC, I have written for multiple years for my own blog, Max2theMax. I love NYC Sports including the Yankees, Knicks, Rangers, and Giants. Ithaca College Bound!!