NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton and Ben Rice homered in the first two innings and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-4 in a game delayed by rain for nearly three hours Thursday.
The Yankees highlighted a busy trade-deadline day by in a deal they were working to finalize.
Stanton hit his eighth homer since returning from tendinitis in both elbows last month four batters in for a 3-0 lead against Tampa Bay starter Ryan Pepiot (6-9). Rice hit a three-run homer into the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center to make it 6-0.
New York starter Marcus Stroman (3-3) allowed four runs and six hits in five innings.
Cody Bellinger hit an RBI single ahead of Stanton’s homer. Yankees newcomer Austin Slater had an RBI groundout in the third for New York, which won for the fourth time in five games since putting Aaron Judge on the injured list.
Stroman did not allow a hit until the fourth, when the Rays scored four times. Jonathan Aranda and Jonny DeLuca hit RBI singles, Taylor Walls had an RBI double and Junior Caminero lifted a sacrifice fly.
Aranda was the third Tampa Bay starter to exit the game after he was holding his left wrist following a collision at first base with Stanton. Yandy Díaz exited with a bruised right forearm after getting hit by a pitch in the first inning and rookie Chandler Simpson exited with a sprained left index finger in the third.
Pepiot was tagged for seven runs and six hits in four innings.
Key moment
Stanton homered after Walls lost a popup by Paul Goldschmidt in the wind and the ball dropped behind in shallow left field for a double.
Key stats
Rice has seven homers in 21 starts as a leadoff hitter.
Up next
New York LHP Carlos Rodón (11-7, 3.18 ERA) opens a three-game series in Miami against the Marlins on Friday.
Tampa Bay RHP Shane Baz (8-7, 4.61 ERA) faces LHP Clayton Kershaw (4-2, 3.62) in the opener of a three-game series against the visiting Dodgers on Friday.
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