Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jesus Sucre, left, reacts as New York Yankees' Didi Gregorius, right, smiles approaching the plate after hitting a third-inning, three-run, home run in an opening day baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, April 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Yankees Beat the Rays

The Yankees took down the Rays on Tuesday night 11-4 impressing their fans in their home opener for the 2018 season.

Stanton Struggles, Gregorius Shines

Giancarlo Stanton struck out five times in his first game in front of his new home crowd at Yankee Stadium. As a result, Yankees fans showed their disappointment booing Stanton near the end of the game.

Although Stanton struggled at the plate, Didi Gregorius took over to create a spark the Yankees needed. He was terrific, going 4 for 4 with a double, two home runs and eight RBI. Gregorius’ eight RBI set a new single-game franchise record for most by a shortstop.

Gregorius credited his performance Tuesday night to his teammates and said that he will continue to play to win for his team.

Quick Hits

The Yankees took the lead in the second when Tyler Wade scored Gregorius with a single to right.

The Rays came out in the third to tie the game. However, the Yankees answered in the bottom of the third when Gregorius hit a three-run homer.

Jordan Montgomery held the Rays to just one run on two hits and struck out four over five innings of work.

In the sixth, Wilson Ramos scored the Rays second run when Adeiny Hechavarria dropped a bloop. After a couple pitching changes for the Yankees, Tommy Kahnle was on the mound when Denard Span hit a two-run double that tied the game at four.

The Yankees took the lead back in the seventh when Tyler Austin scored off of a throwing error. New York would hold onto this lead for the remainder of the game.

Gregorius, however, was not finished. He blasted his second three-run homer giving the Yankees an 8-4 lead. The final scoring of the night came in the eighth off of a walk and a single to left field by Gregorius.

Next Up

The Yankees will host the Rays today to finish their two-game series at 1:05 p.m at Yankee Stadium.

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