SAN DIEGO – Manager Kevin Cash and the Tampa Bay Rays introduced the concept of an opener to modern baseball two years ago.With a chance to close out their AL Division Series against the Yankees on Thursday night, they were bitten by their own creation.They'll try again Friday night, and they'll start with towering Tyler Glasnow on two days of rest.The Rays fell behind in the second inning of Game 4 and never caught up after rookie opener Ryan Thompson gave up two hits, three walks and two runs over 1 2/3 innings in just his second career start.
Tampa Bay couldn't come back in a 5-1 loss in San Diego, its homer-happy lineup limited to just three hits by a sublime collective pitching performance from the Yankees.But just as New York almost.