SAN DIEGO — If the Yankees are going to have success in the postseason — especially if they are going to meet the Red Sox in an American League wild-card series — they are going to have to find a way to beat lefty starters.
Saturday was an encouraging day in that regard.
Even without Aaron Judge, who may be just days away from making his long-awaited return to the lineup, the Yankees knocked left-hander Robbie Ray out of the game in the third inning on the way to a 5-1 win over the Padres at Petco Park.
Ray’s lack of command helped them out, offering four free passes, but the Yankees stayed patient and then attacked to race out to a 5-0 lead before hanging on late as Carlos Rodón and the bullpen combined for a three-hitter.
Ben Rice led the way, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances by going 3-for-3 with two walks while fellow lefty slugger Spencer Jones, in his homecoming series, roped a pair of hits with an RBI off Ray on his first day as the full-time center fielder again after Trent Grisham landed on the injured list.
And Cody Bellinger, the Yankees’ best left-on-left hitter, lived up to it by capping off a four-run second inning with a two-run single.
“Good to see that because, obviously we know we’re going to see our share of lefties, and those lefties [hitters] at different times are going to have to face them,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So good to get some results there.”
Setting up a rubber game Sunday, with Gerrit Cole on the mound against former teammate Michael King, the Yankees (81-61) kept pace with the Rays and remained four games back for the division and 3 ¹/₂ games clear of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card with 20 games left.
After escaping some early trouble, Rodón settled in to toss five innings of one-run ball — the first time he has completed five innings in four starts back from the injured list.
The left-hander walked three but struck out seven, his most in a game since June 17.
“Obviously, there’s some things I’d like to refine and be more crisp in the zone and just get ahead, especially with that kind of lead, but we win and that’s what matters,” said Rodón, who only gave up a solo shot to Manny Machado in the fourth inning.
The Yankees wasted chances to fully break the game open, stranding 12 men on base, but Michael Fulmer, Brent Headrick, John Schreiber and Tim Hill combined to keep the Padres (74-68) at bay in relief of Rodón.
A day after mustering just one run through nine innings of a 3-2, 10-inning loss, the Yankees wasted little time getting going against Ray, who entered the game with a 3.14 ERA.
On the heels of a three-hit game Friday night, Rice led off the second inning by lining a single to right field and later scoring on a two-out double from Jones, who finished the day batting .400 in 45 plate appearances against lefties this season.
José Caballero, Austin Wells and Paul Goldschmidt followed by each drawing walks on full counts, the last one forcing in a run to make it 2-0.
Bellinger then came through with another left-on-left single, driving in two more runs to put the Yankees ahead 4-0.
Ray finally escaped the inning before any more damage was done, though not before the Yankees forced him to throw 42 pitches in the frame.
“[Ray] is a tough matchup,” Bellinger said. “Just a lot of good at-bats. … It was nice to break through.”
Yankees Merch Shop
New York Post receives revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and when you make a purchase.
Rice led off again in the third inning and drew a walk before taking off on a hit-and-run with Heliot Ramos, who singled to put runners on the corners. Lombard then cashed in a run by hitting a sacrifice fly to the warning track, scoring Rice for the 5-0 lead.
In two games this series, Rice has now reached base in eight of nine plate appearances while batting .388 with a 1.006 OPS over his last 12 games.
“I told him he was doing his Tony Gwynn imitation, watching him slash it all over the field, too,” Boone said.
Rice was more impressed by Jones, both in the way he has been hitting of late (.365 with a .951 OPS over his last 18 games) and handling all that comes with playing in your hometown.
“Definitely can be a lot — it can be overwhelming at times,” Rice said. “But I think he’s handled it really well. It speaks to who he is. He keeps looking like just a mature big leaguer out there doing his thing and really slows it down well.”
