Yanks' Can't Complete Sweep Against Rays

C.C. Sabathia delivers a pitch in the 1st inning of Thursday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. (Getty Images)

The Yankees were unable to complete their 3 game sweep tonight after they lost 7-3 against their AL East Rival, the Tampa Bay Rays.

C.C. Sabathia started for the Yankees, but was unable to get the job done. Sabathia allowed 5 runs, 3 of those were earned on 7 hits. He struck out 12 and waked 1. He threw 121 pitches and 92 of those were for strikes.

The Yankee offense was unable to get anything going off of the Rays starter, David Price. Price went 5 innings in the victory and allowed only 1 run on 3 hits.

Chris Stewart, Raul Ibanez, and Russell Martin all drove in runs for the Yankees.

The Yankees were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position tonight and they left 9 on base. They were only able to collect 6 hits in the loss.

The Yankees and Mets will begin the subway series tomorrow in the Bronx.

Game 56: Rays at Yankees

                          June 7th, 2012, 7:05, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

The Yankees will look for the sweep tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees come into this game 1/2 back behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East.

Here are the lineups:

Rays (31-25)
Elliot Johnson, SS
Ben Zobrist, DH
Desmond Jennings, LF
B.J. Upton, CF
Sean Rodriguez, 3B
Carlos Pena, 1B
Jose Lobaton, C
Matt Joyce, RF
Drew Sutton, 2B

Pitching: David Price LHP (7-3, 2.44 ERA this season)

Yankees (31-24)
Derek Jeter, SS
Curtis Granderon, CF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nick Swisher, RF
Andruw Jones, DH
Jayson Nix, LF
Chris Stewart, C

Pitching: C.C. Sabathia LHP (7-2, 3.68 ERA this season)

Enjoy the game!

Freddy Garcia Placed on Bereavement List

The Yankees have placed Freddy Garcia on the bereavement list today due to the passing of his grandfather in Venezuela.

Our condolences go out to Freddy and his family.

The Yankees have recalled right-hander Ryota Igarashi has been recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Nova's Gem Leads Yanks' to Victory

Ivan Nova delivers a pitch in the 1st inning against the Rays on Wednesday (Getty Images)

Ivan Nova followed Andy Pettittes performance last night with a gem of his own in the 4-1 victory against the Rays Wednesday night. 

Nova allowed 1 run on just 4 hist in 8 innings of work. He struck out 5 and walked only 1. Nova pitched to two batters in the 9th, but gave up back-to-back triples to Desmond Jennings and B.J. Upton. Going into the 9th inning, Nova allowed only 2 hits. He finished the game with 103 pitches, in which 69 of those were for strikes. His ERA dropped from 5.60 to 5.09. 

This was easily Nova's best outing of the year. 

Rafael Soriano came on in the 9th inning and notched his 8th save of the year. 

The Yankees offense was able to score some runs tonight. Both Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano hit solo home runs to right field. Mark Teixeira hit his in the 2nd inning and Robinson Cano hit his in the 4th inning. 

Nick Swisher hit a RBI double in the 8th inning following a lead off base hit by Raul Ibanez. Swisher was 1 for 3 on the night. 

Eric Chavez followed Nick Swisher with a RBI double of his own. Chavez was also 1 for 3 on the night. 

The Yankees and Rays will conclude their series tomorrow with a battle of the aces. C.C. Sabathia will go up against David Price. 

Mariano Rivera to Have Surgery June 12

Mariano Rivera will have surgery on June 12th to repair his torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Rivera injured himself while shagging fly balls in center field during batting practice at Kauffman Stadium on May 3rd.

Mariano Rivera told reporters on Wednesday that his blood clot in his knee has cleared up and he is set for surgery. Dr. David Altchek will perform the surgery in New York.

Rivera is set to make his return in 2013.