SAN DIEGO — SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manager Kevin Cash and the Tampa Bay Rays introduced the concept of an opener to modern baseball two years ago.
The Rays fell behind in the second inning of Game 4 and never caught up after rookie opener Ryan Thompson gave up two hits, three walks and two runs over 1 2/3 innings in just his second career start. Tampa Bay couldn't come back in a 5-1 loss in San Diego, its homer-happy lineup limited to just three hits by a sublime collective pitching performance from the Yankees.
But just as New York almost certainly regretted using an opener in Game 2 when Deivi García and J.