Opening the weekend series in The Bronx, the Rays looked to start the series on the right foot against the second place Yankees. With a 0.5 game lead in the division, the 26-15 Rays turned to opener Ryne Stanek to start this game against CC Sabathia and the Yankees.
Ryne Stanek threw two innings to open the game and after a hitless first inning where Stanek struck out one, Kendrys Morales put the Yankees on the scoreboard early with a loud home run to right field in the second. This would be the only run that Stanek would allow, but it gave the Yankees an early 1-0 lead.