The Yankees beat the Orioles 5-4 on Friday in Baltimore, but they nearly didn’t thanks to Aaron Boone. The Yankees manager decided Gio Urshela needed the day off, even though he was able to pinch it in the seventh inning, and hit a go-ahead, three-run home run.

Aaron Hicks didn’t play because of a wrist tear, Giancarlo Stanton didn’t play because of quad tightness and Aroldis Chapman wasn’t available because having two of the previous four days off wasn’t enough for him.

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The Yankees won two out of three against the Rays at Tropicana Field, but only scored five runs in the series. The Yankees have the third-lowest amount of runs scored in the American League and the season is 37 games and 23 percent complete. When is the offense going to show up like the Yankees keep saying it will?

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Gerrit Cole was dominant with eight shutout innings and 12 strikeouts and the Yankees beat the Rays 1-0 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field. The Yankees have now won 14 of 19 and have clinched the three-game series against the Rays, but that shouldn’t mean they shouldn’t go all out to sweep the Rays on Thursday. It’s time for the Yankees to embarrass the Rays the way the Rays have embarrassed them for the last few years.

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The Yankees beat the Rays 3-1 on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field and it was an impressive win. Jordan Montgomery avoided giving up a crooked number, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez homered and Aaron Boone actually made logical bullpen decisions. The Yankees have Gerrit Cole going in the second game of the series and have set themselves up to have a big road trip.

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The Yankees passed their test against the Astros, winning two of three. They passed the test against the Nationals, winning two of three. Now they head to Tampa, a place they have rarely won in the Aaron Boone era, needing to finally show the Rays they have had enough losing in this rivalry.

Subscribe to the Keefe To The City Podcast. New episode after every game during the season.

My book The Next Yankees Era: My Transition from the Core Four to the Baby Bombers is now available as an ebook!