When the Rays beat New York on the final day of the regular season on Sept. 28, it did not really affect the Yankees, who had already clinched a playoff spot. They watched as more or less disinterested bystanders while the Rays celebrated one of the most remarkable wins in franchise history to beat out the collapsing Boston Red Sox for the American League Wild Card.
Six months later, the Yankees were the foils again. With 34,078 fans standing and chanting "Let's go Rays," Carlos Pena, who had hit a grand slam in the first inning, hit a long single off Mariano Rivera with the bases loaded to propel the Rays to a 7-6 victory over the Yankees on opening day at sold out Tropicana Field.
Rivera, who may retire after the season, came into the game trying to protect a 6-5 lead. But he gave up a leadoff single to Desmond Jennings, and then a triple to Ben Zobrist that tied the score and caused Rivera to blow the save. He then intentionally walked Evan Longoria, whose home run against Scott Proctor last year sent the Rays into October, and Luke Scott to load the bases.
Yankees Manager Joe Girardi then sent in Eduardo Nunez as an extra infielder in place of Nick Swisher, and Rivera struck out Sean Rodriguez. But Pena drove a pitch well over the infield, all the way to the wall, and the Rays poured out of the dugout — again — to mob Pena at second base.
While Rivera failed to hold the lead, the Yankees lineup was equally culpable, failing to capitalize with the bases loaded in three different innings that could have given the bullpen a comfortable lead.
C.C. Sabathia recovered from a terrible first inning to limit the Rays to one run over his final five innings, and hung around long enough to leave the game with a lead. He allowed five runs, four of which came on Pena's first-inning grand slam, on eight hits and three walks, one of which was intentional. He threw 104 pitches, one of which was turned into a home run by Evan Longoria in the Rays' fifth inning.
The Yankees were equally unkind to Rays ace James Shields, who surrendered six runs on nine hits, the biggest coming off the bat of the newest Yankee.
It was an auspicious beginning for Raul Ibanez, who did not show any life in his bat until the last week of spring training. But he had a memorable first game, blasting a three-run home run in the fourth inning to wipe away a 4-3 Tampa lead built on Pena's slam.
Ibanez was signed in the offseason to become the Yankees regular designated hitter against right-handed pitchers, and suffered through a terrible first three weeks of spring training games.
Undaunted, Ibanez corralled hitting coach Kevin Long and special advisor Reggie Jackson, and went to work in the cages. By the end of the spring he was hitting balls consistently hard, lending some hope for the regular season. On Thursday, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman noted that Ibanez hit 20 home runs last year and knocked in 84 runs. Even though he will turn 40 on June 2, Cashman still believes there are more hits left in his bat, but knows he made a bit of a gamble.
"We made a $1.1 million bet that he can do this for us in 2012," Cashman said. "But it's a bet. I don't know, we'll find out. Do I think he will? Yes, but we'll have to wait and see."
The Yankees season started with, no surprise, a single by Derek Jeter, who rapped a full-count pitch up the middle for a single. The Rays, who ended last year's regular season with a home run, began this year with one, as well. Pena, in his return to Tampa, crushed a 3-2 pitch for a grand slam after the Yankees had intentionally walked Sean Rodriguez to load the bases.
With runners on first and second and two outs, Joe Girardi trotted out to the mound to suggest, or command, that Sabathia walk Rodriguez intentionally to pitch to the lefty Pena. Rodriguez only hits .260 against lefties, but Pena was hitting only .210 against left-handers and just .114 against Sabathia (4 for 35 with two home runs).
But Sabathia fell behind 3-1, then got Pena to foul off a pitch to bring the count full. His next offering was a high fastball over the plate and Pena destroyed it, sending it an estimated 428 feet deep, or roughly 10 rows back in the right-centerfield bleachers.
But the Yankees clawed back two runs in the top of the second as Alex Rodriguez doubled to lead off the inning and scored from third on Ibanez's ground out to the right side in his first at-bat as a Yankee. Mark Teixeira, who was hit by a pitch, scored the second run on a wild pitch. The Yankees had the bases loaded after Russell Martin walked and Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter singled, but Curtis Granderson struck out to end the inning, and in the top of the third Ibanez hit his inaugural homer to stake Sabathia to a lead the team could not hold.
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