The Tampa Bay Rays visit the New York Yankees on Friday for the second game of their series. The game starts at 7:05 p.m. ET. Listen to the audio or watch the live stream HERE.
New York's offense went missing Thursday night as Tampa Bay beat them in the Bronx, 8-3. The Yankees face losing a season-high third straight home game if they don't generate runs on Friday.
Injuries have made things difficult for the club, according to the Associated Press. They've been without Derek Jeter (ankle) and Alex Rodriguez (hip) all season, and they learned this week they'll be without Kevin Youkilis (back) and Mark Teixeira (wrist) for the immediate future.
Since May 25, the Yankees are 9-15 while hitting .216, the lowest in MLB. New York has also only scored 71 runs, another MLB low.
None of New York's runs on Thursday came off hits. The three scores came on a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly and a groundout. The club had only six hits against Tampa Bay, marking the sixth straight game it's been unable to record hits in the double digits.
David Phelps (4-4, 4.08 ERA) takes the mound Friday night for New York. Phelps allowed one run and four hits through his first 12 innings in June, but gave up four runs and nine hits in a 6-2 loss on Saturday to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Rays pitcher Roberto Hernandez (4-7, 5.02) will start for the Rays. Excluding a win against the Miami Marlins, MLB's lowest-scoring team, Hernandez is 0-4 with a 7.82 ERA. He's lost his last five starts against New York, posting a dismal 11.32 ERA.
