Jasson Dominguez drives in two runs as Yankees and Rays play to tie

Jasson Dominguez tripled and drove in two runs as the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays played to a 7-7 tie in spring training action in Port Charlotte, Fla.

Here are the takeaways…

– Will Warren, looking to lock down the fifth spot in the Yanks’ rotation, was greeted with a rocket up the middle for a hit on the first pitch he threw in the bottom of the first. The righty escaped with no damage, grabbing a strikeout looking in the process.

After grabbing another strikeout looking in a 1-2-3 inning, a single, fielder’s choice, and two-out single gave the Rays a run off him in the third. He bounced back, adding another strikeout as he retired the side in order in the fourth but back-to-back singles to start the fifth ended his afternoon.

His final line: 4.0 innings, five hits, three runs, and four strikeouts.

– Dominguez fell behind 0-2 and got caught looking at a two-seam fastball on the inside corner his first time up. The left fielder laced a stand-up triple to the gap in right-center on the first pitch he saw his second at-bat to score the Yanks’ second run. He knocked in another run with a single to left in the fifth, scoring Ismael Munguia, who singled and stole second to start the inning.

The promising youngster finished the afternoon 2-for-3 with two RBI and is now slashing .256/.293/.462 on the spring.

– Austin Wells went down swinging on a high breaking pitch from Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen to lead off the game and went down swinging again in the fifth. But between those chances he grabbed the Yanks’ fourth bloop single of the afternoon to start the third inning. He finished 1-for-3.

– Pablo Reyes punched a one-out single into shallow center, just getting the looper over the outstretched arm of Brandon Lowe up the middle, before coming around to score on Ronaldo Hernández’s sacrifice fly to center. He singled again in the sixth, past a diving shortstop. 

After going 2-for-4 he is now slashing .400/.515/.440 for the spring.

– Jorbit Vivas clubbed a single to shallow right for a single to cover the corners in the second. He cracked his second hit with a run-scoring single smashed past the first baseman in the sixth. The third baseman jumped all over a breaking pitch and lined a ball that hit off the right fielder’s glove on the warning track for a double.  

Vivas finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a strikeout.

– After entering for Wells late in the game, Ben Rice got an infield hit off the pitcher and then stole second base after getting a big jump in the seventh. He walked and came all the way around to score from first on a ninth-inning double by Parks Harber.

– Dom Smith flew out to right his first at-bat and did the same in the third inning, but this time netted an RBI on a sac fly. He tapped into a 4-6-3 double play and struck out looking to finish the day 0-for-3 with an RBI.

– Oswaldo Cabrera went down swinging on three pitches to start the second and chased a pitch up and out of the zone in the third to go down on strikes. He walked to start the sixth and was lifted for a pinch-runner.

– Geoff Hartlieb, a 31-year-old righty with MLB experience, came in with two runners on in the fifth and walked the first guy he faced. Signed this offseason on a minor league deal, Hartlieb got a 6-4-3 double play, but a walk, single, and double down the first baseline saw the score tied. A four-pitch walk to re-load the bases chased Hartlieb. Minor leaguer Huey Morrill played fireman to nail down a strikeout for the final out.

– Carlos Rodon, the day after he was named the Opening Day starter, was set to make the start Saturday, but manager Aaron Boone opted for the left-hander to work in a more controlled environment of a live batting practice in Tampa.

Highlights

What’s next

The Yankees split up to play a pair of 1:05 p.m. games on Sunday, staying in Port Charlotte to face these same Rays and in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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