Rays 3, Yankees 0: Jeremy Hellickson celebrated his 25th birthday by pitching 8 2/3 shutout innings as Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep of visiting New York.
Carlos Pe +/-a and Jeff Keppinger hit homers to help the Rays start 3-0 for only the second time in franchise history. The Yankees are 0-3 for the first time since 1998, a season in which they recovered from the slow start to defeat the San Diego Padres in the World Series.
Hellickson (1-0) kept the Yankees off-balance throughout the contest to help the Rays win their sixth consecutive home game against New York. The 2011 American League Rookie of the Year struck out four and walked four. He was removed after walking Nick Swisher with two outs in the ninth. Fernando Rodney retired Raul Iba +/-ez on a comebacker to notch his second save.
Tampa Bay struck in the first against Yankees starter Phil Hughes (0-1) when Evan Longoria doubled with two out and scored on Matt Joyceâ??s triple. Pe +/-a hit his second homer of the series in the third and Keppinger added a solo shot in the sixth to make it 3-0.
Pe +/-a nearly homered again in the fifth when a fan reached over the right-field railing to snare his drive. Fan interference was called and Pe +/-a was awarded a ground-rule double.
Hughes allowed two runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pe +/-a went 6-for-12 with seven RBIs in the series. â? Third baseman Alex Rodriguez played in the field as New York manager Joe Girardi opted not to use him as the designated hitter. â? Tampa Bayâ??s other 3-0 start was in 2002. â? All three of New Yorkâ??s hits were doubles.
