The Rays spent the weekend like tourists taking a leisurely stroll through Central Park, except they were doing it around the bases at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees spent Monday afternoon returning the favor, in more ways than one. Carlos Rodon mostly kept the Rays off the bases altogether in a dominant bounce-back effort while the Yankees out-slugged them with five home runs on the way to a 9-1 win in The Bronx.
Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, DJ LeMahieu and Juan Soto (twice) all homered to power the Yankees (60-42) to a split of the four-game series ahead of Tuesday’s Subway Series showdown. They mostly took their time around the bases as well — especially Soto after his first homer, taking 37.7 seconds after a towering 424-foot blast into the luxury boxes — offering a tribute to what the Rays (50-50) had done on Saturday and Sunday.
Among the Rays’ eight home runs over the weekend, Randy Arozarena and Jose Siri in particular took their sweet time trotting the bases, which angered the crowd. Siri was responsible for the only damage off Rodon on Monday with a solo shot and took 30 seconds to get from the batter’s box to the plate , with plenty of gesturing to his teammates and the crowd along the way. “It’s a new world,” manager Aaron Boone said before Monday’s game.
“I look away sometimes. That’s part of it. Guys are going to do what they do.
It’s on us, each individual, to handle themselves how they want. If somebody doesn’t like it, it’s on us to k.