New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays: Final Score & Recap
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| TB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | 4 | 10 | 0 |
The Story
The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees 4-2 at Charlotte Sports Park on February 27, 2024, in a game that the DiamondIQ model's estimate shifted from a 54 percent pre-game home win probability all the way to 100 percent by the final out. The Rays built their margin steadily, scoring in the second, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, while holding New York to single runs in the fifth and sixth. Tampa Bay's clean defensive performance contributed to the lopsided error column, with the Rays finishing without an error against New York's two.
The sixth inning proved to be the decisive stretch of the game. Anthony Volpe gave the Yankees a brief jolt of momentum with a triple off Michael Gomez that swung win probability 20.0 percentage points in New York's favor, representing the single largest win-probability swing of the night. However, Everson Pereira's fielder's choice out off Gomez just moments later erased 10.3 percentage points of that gain, stalling the Yankees rally. Tampa Bay answered immediately in the bottom half when Nick Meyer connected on a home run off Nick Ramirez, a swing worth 14.7 percentage points in the Rays' favor that effectively reclaimed command of the game. Jose Rojas had earlier provided New York a 12.3 percentage point boost with a fifth-inning home run off Zac Houston, and Ronny Simon added an 11.7 percentage point single off Nick Burdi in the seventh to further secure the Tampa Bay cushion.
Volpe finished as the Yankees' standout individual, posting a WPA of plus-18.9 and an RE24 of plus-1.2, but his contributions were ultimately insufficient. Meyer led all Tampa Bay batters with a WPA of plus-14.1 and an RE24 of plus-0.7, while René Pinto contributed plus-10.6 WPA and an RE24 of plus-1.0 to round out the Rays' most impactful offensive performers. On the mound, Tyler Alexander led Tampa Bay's pitching staff with a WPA of plus-11.2, supported by Carlos Garcia at plus-8.5 and Marcus Johnson at plus-8.1, a collective effort that kept New York's lineup largely in check across nine innings.