The New York Yankees (59-40) scored early and rolled to a 6-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays (48-49) in the series opener on Friday night in the Bronx.
Alex Verdugo broke the scoreless tie in the third with a run-scoring groundout, and Anthony Volpe smoked a bases-clearing double down the left-field line to make it 4-0.
New York added to its lead in the fourth as Juan Soto doubled off the wall and scored on a fielding and throwing error for a Little-League-style home run.
Tampa Bay got on the board in the sixth as Brandon Lowe launched one into the right-field seats off Gerrit Cole.
The Yankees answered in the home half as Aaron Judge punched a two-out RBI single into right to extend the lead to 6-1.
Soto finished the game with two singles, two doubles, and a walk.
Cole tossed six innings of one-run ball with one walk and eight strikeouts, improving to 3-1 with a 4.60 ERA this season.
Tommy Kahnle, Jake Cousins, and Caleb Ferguson combined for three scoreless.
The Yankees will hand the ball to Nestor Cortes on Saturday at 1:05 p.m., looking to take the first two games of this four-game series.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].