Yankees Strike Out 17 Times in 6-4 Loss to Rays

The New York Yankees struck out 17 times in a 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on July 7 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The total made the Yankees the first American League team to strike out 17 times in consecutive nine-inning games.

Starter Ian Seymour recorded 12 strikeouts in 5⅓ innings. He became the first pitcher on any team to reach 12 strikeouts through five innings against the Yankees in the last 50 years. Griffin Jax had struck out 10 batters in five innings during a 5-1 Rays win the previous night.

Paul Goldschmidt struck out four times and extended an 0-for-30 slump. Jose Caballero also struck out four times. The Yankees collected 11 hits, their first double-digit hit game since June 17. The defeat was the Yankees' 10th in their last 12 games.

They trail the first-place Rays by four games in the AL East. The team has 824 strikeouts this season, the third-highest total in the American League. Manager Aaron Boone said the team must improve at putting the ball in play.

"You're going to have nights where you're up against a dominant pitcher, especially in today's game where you have those double digits [strikeouts] here and there," Boone told reporters. " Boone added that several players need to regain form without overhauling the approach. "We have to get some guys on track right now," he said.

"Some really good players obviously that are going through a tough time right now. " Cody Bellinger noted the Rays' pitching strength. "That's a lot of strikeouts," Bellinger said. "I knew we had 17 yesterday; I didn't feel like we had that many today.

Boone said the team would continue its current methods. "I don't want to be down at the bottom, but we're going to keep trying," he said. " Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan, who has 77 strikeouts this season, is scheduled to face Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole in the next game of the series.