About Last Night: Yankees 13, Rays 3

by Derek McAdam

August 20, 2025

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The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in a home run derby-like games last night by a score of 13-3. Here’s a recap of last night’s game.

Quick Stats:

W: Carlos Rodon (13-7): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

L: Shane Baz (8-10): 3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

HRs: NYY: Aaron Judge (40), Cody Bellinger (23, 24), Giancarlo Stanton (13, 14), Jose Caballero (3, 4), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (22), Ben Rice (19)

Last night was the third time this season the Yankees have hit back-to-back-to-back home runs, and the first since April 29. This is a franchise single-season record. The Yankees have also accomplished this feat all three times during the 1st inning, which is the first time that has happened in MLB history.

Cody Bellinger also played all three outfield positions last night, becoming the first Yankee to do so since Ichiro Suzuki in 2012.

The Big Story:

The Yankees came into last night’s game fresh off a series sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals. They have now won five of their last six games. And while the game was already slated to have a later start at 7:35 p.m. EST, a nearly two-hour rain delay did not allow the game to start until 9:30, turning it into a VERY late night game for both teams.

The Yankees took an early lead in the 1st when Aaron Judge blasted his 40th home run of the season into center field, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. It was Judge’s fourth 40 home run season of his career, tying him for third-most in the franchise’s history. Following in Judge’s footsteps, Bellinger blasted a back-to-back home run into the right field seats to give the Yankees a quick 2-0 lead. And Stanton then decided to make it back-to-back-to-back home runs for the Yankees, slapping one into the right-center field seats for a 3-0 lead. It was the third time this season the Yankees have accomplished this feat.

In the 2nd, the Yankees went yard again when Jose Caballero hit his first home run as a Yankee to make it 5-0, carrying over his hot streak from the St. Louis series. His 322 foot home run would only have been a home run in one other ballpark (Fenway Park).

But in the bottom of the inning, Nick Fortes hit an RBI single to put the Rays on the board and make the new score 5-1 Yankees. Chandler Simpson then grounded into a fielder's choice to cut the Yankees’ lead to three, with a new score of 5-2.

However, the Yankees got one run back in the 3rd when Jazz Chisholm hit a solo home run into the right field seats, the Yankees’ fifth home run of the night.

With two runners on in the 4th, Giancarlo Stanton hit his second home run of the night to give the Yankees a commanding 9-2 lead. And right after him, Ben Rice connected on a hanging pitch for his 19th home run of the season for a 10-2 Yankees’ lead.

In the 6th, Cody Bellinger hit his second home run of the night into the right field seats to make it 12-2 Yankees, the team’s eighth home run of the night.

In the 8th, the Rays tacked on a run when Jake Mangum beat out a throw from Caballero at third to make the new score 12-3. In the 9th, Jose Caballero hit his second home run of the night to make it 13-3 Yankees. The home run also tied the franchise record for most home runs in a single game, which was set earlier this season against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Player of the Game:

Cody Bellinger had a fantastic night at the plate with a couple of home runs and a couple of singles to add to his great night. It was a solid performance all around.

Notable Performances:

Giancarlo Stanton continues to look great at the plate, and Aaron Judge also had some nice at-bats.

Carlos Rodon also settled in and gave the Yankees six nice innings of work to earn the quality start.

Better to Forget:

Trent Grisham was the only Yankee starter to not record a hit, but I’m sure he can overlook that for the sake of the win.

My Take:

It was a very long night for someone who has a 5:30 a.m. start to the day, but it was well worth staying up late. The home runs just kept coming and coming and coming and it did not seem like the Yankees would stop. The Rays went to their bullpen for the 4th inning, but the troubles for them continued. It was a great sight to see.

One player I have to specifically mention is Giancarlo Stanton. He has been on an absolute tear this season and just continues to amaze me day after day. His stretch of great games he is playing reminds me of his heroic World Series run last year. Even if he isn’t hitting home runs, he is still putting together productive at-bats and working pitch counts. Hopefully, he can keep this up.

One thing I did not discuss too much above was Carlos Rodon, who had a shaky start to his outing. Even as he took the mound as 10 p.m. approached, it was still very humid in Tampa and he was drenched in sweat, constantly having to rub his forearms on his pants. And with the Yankees not having another off-day for a little while, they need to get some innings out of their starters.

However, Rodon started to limit the traffic on the bases and had a couple of easier innings. It wasn’t as solid as his start on Aug. 12 against Minnesota, but it was still was a good way to kick this long stretch of games off. Rodon also had to work around some long offensive innings from the Yankees, which can definitely be challenging in its own.

Overall, it was a great win for the Yankees. Hopefully, they didn’t score too much last night and can carry the solid offense into tonight’s game and throughout the long weekend series.

What’s Next?

The Yankees will play the final game of this quick two-game series tonight before heading home for a four-game series with the Boston Red Sox. Cam Schlittler is scheduled to start for the Yankees, while Drew Rasmussen is scheduled to go for the Rays. First pitch is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. from Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.