Rays' 'pen, Arozarena rise to occasion vs. NY

ST. PETERSBURG -- With an early lead and an unexpectedly early exit by starter Chris Archer, the Rays needed their bullpen to step up and find a way to record 20 outs Saturday afternoon.

Tampa Bay’s relief corps was up to the challenge, picking up 6 2/3 innings during the Rays’ 4-0 win over the Yankees at Tropicana Field. Andrew Kittredge, Jeffrey Springs, Ryan Thompson, Cody Reed and Chris Mazza teamed up to allow a combined two hits and two walks while striking out five.

• Box score

“They all did a really nice job. I mean, look, any time you shut out a team in Major League Baseball, it's saying something,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “When you do it in that fashion against that lineup, it's really saying something given that Chris could only go 2 1/3.”

It was the Rays’ second shutout of the season, along with their 1-0 victory in Miami on Opening Day, making this the third time in franchise history (also 2013 and ‘15) that the Rays have pitched multiple shutouts within their first eight games of the season. The victory also secured Tampa Bay’s fifth consecutive series victory against New York -- the streak has reached six, if you count the postseason.

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The Rays have ridden their relievers to a lot of wins over the past few years, and they expect to do the same this season. But injuries and absences have quickly changed the cast of characters in the bullpen. Consider this: Of the pitchers who took the mound on Saturday, only Thompson was a part of Tampa Bay’s postseason bullpen.

“We're in a stretch where it's just not going to line up like what we maybe saw in the postseason last year,” Cash said. “It's a very much all-hands-on-deck approach here early on, and that's OK because we're going to be in tight games throughout the early part of the season and we're going to get good experience. ... With some of the younger guys or the guys coming back from injury, it's going to help build their confidence in a big way.”

Kittredge, who did not pitch after Aug. 11 last season, navigated his way through the middle of the Yankees' lineup to finish the third inning, then worked the fourth. Springs, acquired from the Red Sox just before Spring Training, struck out three in two impressive innings. Then came Thompson, Reed and Mazza, each facing only three batters per inning.

Their effectiveness and efficiency kept the Rays from having to use Diego Castillo, their highest-leverage reliever, in a four-run game. That will leave him rested and ready as the Rays go for the weekend sweep in Sunday’s series finale.

“I'm really glad the bullpen stepped up,” said Archer, who was placed on the 10-day injured list after the game with right lateral forearm tightness. “Kittredge coming in doing that job was really, really tough. Coming in ice cold, he's not anticipating coming in for at least a few innings given how the game was going. Bullpen really, really stepped up, and I'm really fortunate that they were able to take it over like they did.”

The Rays got all the offense they needed in the first three innings against Yankees starter Domingo Germán. In the first, Austin Meadows crushed his third home run of the season off the right-field foul pole. In the second, Francisco Mejía bounced a comebacker off Germán’s glove into shallow right field for a two-run single. And in the third, Randy Arozarena launched his first home run since his historic postseason to dead center field.

Arozarena, who finished 3-for-5 on Saturday, has hit safely in each of his first seven games to start the season. Eight of his first nine hits have been singles, but he reminded everyone of his impressive power on the first pitch he saw in the third inning. Arozarena unloaded on Germán's 92.1 mph sinker, crushing it 420 feet to center with an exit velocity of 108.1 mph.

As he began rounding the bases, Arozarena pointed at hitting coach Chad Mottola inside the Rays’ dugout. Before Saturday’s game, Mottola noticed a minor mechanical issue with Arozarena’s elbow as they watched video of the rookie’s postseason home run barrage. The result of their pregame work was something the Rays saw plenty of last October and something they hope to see much more the rest of this year.

“It’s always a good moment when you do something for the team,” Arozarena said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “I was just trying to make hard contact, and that’s happened.”