A day that began with cheers for retiring radio voice John Sterling ended with boos in the Bronx as the Yankees offense failed to break through against the rival Rays.
Tampa Bay broke a scoreless tie in the top of the 10th inning, pushing across two runs against struggling Yankees reliever Caleb Ferguson en route to a 2-0 victory.
The Rays’ Jose Caballero got the scoring started with an RBI double, then scored on a single by Ben Rortvedt, who spent the previous two years with the Yankees.
A smattering of boos emerged after Rortvedt’s RBI single doubled the Yankees’ deficit. Ferguson, whom the Yankees acquired in an offseason trade with the Dodgers, fell to 0-3 through nine appearances and now has a 6.23 ERA.
Frustrated fans also booed in the bottom of the ninth after Aaron Judge struck out for the fourth time in as many at-bats. Judge’s average dropped to .179 after the 0-for-4 performance.
It wasn’t the most fitting outcome on a day the Yankees held a pregame celebration for Sterling, who announced his retirement Monday after 36 seasons calling the team’s games — a run that included five World Series championships and 30 consecutive winning seasons.
The Yankees’ offensive issues wasted a stellar start from Nestor Cortes, who stifled the Rays for seven shutout innings. He retired Tampa Bay’s first eight batters while recording a season-high nine strikeouts. He didn’t allow a walk and worked around six hits — all singles — on 102 pitches.
Tampa Bay’s best scoring threat against Cortes came during a fifth inning that Amed Rosario and Curtis Mead began with back-to-back singles before moving to second and third on a sacrifice bunt. The gritty Cortes escaped the jam by striking out Jose Siri and Rene Pinto — both on 93-mph fastballs.
The dominant outing continued a resurgent beginning to the season for Cortes, who now owns a 3.41 ERA through five starts. He threw eight shutout innings in an April 8 win against the Miami Marlins before surrendering four runs in four innings last weekend to the hot-hitting Cleveland Guardians.
A nagging rotator cuff strain limited Cortes to 12 starts last season — and only one after May 30. He pitched to a 4.97 ERA in 2023, more than two runs higher than his 2.44 mark during an All-Star season in 2022.
Tampa Bay starter Zach Eflin held the Yankees to three hits over six shutout innings, striking out six.
Saturday’s game remained scoreless even longer than Friday night’s series opener, which was 0-0 until the sixth inning. Tampa Bay struck first in that game, but the Yankees won, 5-3, thanks to a five-run, seventh-inning rally highlighted by a booming three-run home run from Soto.
Sunday’s series finale is scheduled to begin at 1:35 p.m. ET, with the Yankees’ Luis Gil (0-1, 3.86 ERA) set to pitch against the Rays’ Aaron Civale (2-1, 2.74 ERA).
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