Ryan McMahon, Yankees aim to finish series win vs. Rays

The New York Yankees made three trades in the past five days, and general manager Brian Cashman may finish off some more deals before the trade deadline on Thursday.

Ryan McMahon was the first of the acquisitions, and his first few days with the Yankees are going well, putting New York in a position to get a series win when it hosts the struggling Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon.

The Yankees are bidding for their first three-game winning streak since putting together a five-game run from July 6-11. After Cody Bellinger homered three times against the Chicago Cubs in the final game of that streak, the Yankees lost seven of 10 before winning three of their past four games.

Each of the latest three victories was decided by two runs or fewer, and McMahon played a key role in two of those contests since being acquired from the Colorado Rockies on Friday.

On Sunday, he started a four-run second inning with a two-run double off Zack Wheeler in a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. On Wednesday, McMahon helped the Yankees escape with a 5-4 win over the Rays when he delivered the game-ending single in the 11th inning.

In five games since the trade, McMahon is 6-for-17 (.353). Over his past 14 games, the third baseman is hitting .327 (16-for-49) with four homers and 13 RBIs.

“Just a solid ballplayer,” said Bellinger, who often faced McMahon as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “Just a really solid ballplayer. I played against him a ton in the NL West, growing up in the Fall League together.”

McMahon delivered his clutch hit after the Yankees tied the Wednesday game three times. Bellinger hit a tying triple in the 10th and is hitting .348 (48-for-138) over his past 33 games.

The Rays have just one win in their past seven games and are under .500 for the first time since they were 25-26 on May 24. So far Tampa Bay has made two trades, dealing catcher Danny Jansen to the Milwaukee Brewers after a 4-2 win over the Yankees on Monday and sending Zack Littell to the Cincinnati Reds after he pitched five scoreless innings on Wednesday.

Brandon Lowe returned Wednesday from missing nine games with tendinitis in his foot and ankle and went 2-for-4 with an RBI double. Josh Lowe hit a two-run homer off Devin Williams in the ninth and Jonathan Aranda delivered a sacrifice fly in the 10th, but the Rays could hold on.

“It’s tough to win ballgames here, but when you got leads and you’re not able to hold them, it makes it that much more challenging,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

New York’s Marcus Stroman (2-2, 6.09 ERA) will get the start in the series finale on Thursday. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 4.01 ERA in five starts since missing more than two months with left knee inflammation. Stroman experienced his shortest outing since returning when he allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings during a 9-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

Stroman is 6-9 with a 4.43 ERA in 19 career starts against the Rays.

Tampa Bay right-hander Ryan Pepiot (6-8, 3.42 ERA) will square off with Stroman. He is 0-2 with a 3.75 ERA in his past four starts. Pepiot last pitched on Saturday in Cincinnati, when he allowed two runs, both unearned, on two hits in six innings during a no-decision.

Pepiot is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees. He has faced New York twice this year and lost both times, permitting three runs in six innings on April 20, then two runs in 4 1/3 innings on May 2.

–Field Level Media