Game 81: Yankees at Rays

July 4th, 2012, 3:10 pm ET, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida

TV: YES Network Radio: WCBS 880

Weather: Indoor Facility

The Yankees look to pick up a win today in the finale of their three game set with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Here are the lineups:

Yankees (48-32)
Derek Jeter, SS
Curtis Granderson, CF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, DH
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nick Swisher, RF
Andruw Jones, LF
Russell Martin, C
Jayson Nix, 3B

Pitching: David Phelps RHP (1-3, 3.16 ERA this season)
(David Phelps against the Rays: Click Here)

Rays (43-39)
Desmond Jennings, LF
Carlos Pena, 1B
B.J. Upton, Cf
Jeff Keppinger, 3B
Ben Zobrist, RF
Luke Scott, DH
Jose Lobaton, C
Sean Rodriguez, 2B
Elliot Johnson, SS

Pitching: David Price LHP (11-4, 2.92 ERA this season)
(David Price against the Yankees: Click Here)

Enjoy the game!

Yanks', Nova Fall to Rays

Ivan Nova stands with Russell Martin during their game against the Rays on Tuesday. (The Associated Press Photo)

The Yankees were unable to defeat the Rays Tuesday night as they lost 7-4. The game was close throughout, but the Rays took the lead and the Yankees could not battle back.

Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and he pitched well. He allowed 6 runs, 3 earned, on 7 hits in 6 innings of work. The defense let him down tonight and he suffered the loss because of that. He threw 102 pitches, 65 of them were for strikes.

The Yankees jumped on James Shields early on with two runs in the first inning, but couldn't break through against him during the later inning. They would end up scoring again in the third inning, which at the time gave them a 3-0 lead. The Rays would tie the game in the bottom half, but the Yankees would take the lead again in the fourth. The Rays quickly responded with two in the bottom of the fourth to take the 5-4 lead. They would end up scoring twice more in the seventh inning to take a 7-4 lead, which was enough for them to secure the win.

The Yankees and Rays will play the finale tomorrow on the 4th of July!

Game 80: Yankees at Rays

July 3rd, 2012, 7:10 pm ET, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida

TV: My 9, MLB Network Radio: WCBS 880

Weather: Indoor Facility

The Yankees and Rays will continue their three game set tonight.

Click Here for the probable pitchers for this series.

Here are the lineups:

Yankees (48-31)
Derek Jeter, SS
Curtis Granderson, CF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nick Swisher, RF
Raul Ibanez, DH
Eric Chavez, 1B
Russell Martin, C
DeWayne Wise, LF

Pitching: Ivan Nova RHP (9-2, 4.03 ERA this season)
(Ivan Nova against the Rays: Click Here)

Rays (42-38)
Desmond Jennings, LF
Carlos Pena, 1B
B.J. Upton, CF
Jeff Keppinger, 3B
Ben Zobrist, RF
Luke Scott, DH
Jose Molina, C
Sean Rodriguez, SS
Elliot Johnson, 2B

Pitching: James Shields RHP (7-5, 4.04 ERA this season)
(James Shields against the Yankees: Click Here)

Enjoy the game!

Yanks' Drop Opener to Rays; Lose Lead Late

Freddy Garcia pitches against the Rays on Monday.  (Getty Images)

The Yankees dropped the opener to the Rays on Monday night by a final score of 4-3. The Yankees had the lead for most of the game, but they lost it late by a poor outing by David Robertson and an error by Mark Teixeira. 

Freddy Garcia started for the Yankees and he was everything they could have asked for. Garcia allowed 2 runs on 5 hits in 5 1/3 innings pitched. He struck out 4 and did not issue a walk. Garcia threw 74 pitches, 46 of them were for strikes. Garcia was on a pitch limit, therefore he exited the game early.

The Yankee offense scored early against Matt Moore. They were able to get two runs in the first inning by a Mark Teixeira RBI double and a Robinson Cano RBI single.

The Yankees would score one more run in the seventh inning by a Curtis Granderson sacrifice fly.

David Robertson came on in the seventh inning with two outs and he allowed a game-tying double to Brooks Condrad. Elliot Johnson was next and he hit a ground ball to Mark Teixeira that went passed him. The Rays would take a 4-3 lead and they would hold on for the win.

Mark Teixeira was asked after the game what happened and he said that "he just missed it."

The Yankees and Rays will play game 2 of 3 tomorrow.

2012 Home Run Derby Participants

Robinson Cano has announced the participants of the Home Run Derby for the American League that will take place on July 9th. Cano announced it during the ESPN Nationals Broadcast game between the Mets and Dodgers.

Including Cano, here are is the American League Home Run Derby team:

• Jose Bautista, OF: 26 home runs
• Robinson Cano, 2B: 20 home runs
• Mark Trumbo, 3B: 20 home runs
• Prince Fielder, 1B: 12 homeruns

Matt Kemp, who is the National League captain, has also announced his Home Run Derby participants. 

Here is the National League Home Run Derby squad: 

• Carlos Beltran, OF: 20 homeruns
• Giancarlo Stanton, OF: 19 homeruns
• Carlos Gonzalez, OF: 17 homeruns
• Matt Kemp, OF: 9 homeruns