Rays beat Yankees 9-0 to move within 5 games in AL East

By MARK DIDTLER
Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jeffrey Springs pitched neatly into the sixth inning, Christian Bethancourt hit a two-run homer in the seventh, and the Tampa Bay Rays moved within five games of the AL East-leading New York Yankees with a 9-0 victory. It was the first of six games between the teams in a 10-day span as New York saw its once-commanding 15 1/2 game advantage continue to evaporate. Springs gave up four hits and three walks, along with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Tampa Bay has limited the Yankees to 42 runs in 14 games. Bethancourt made it 3-0 on his homer off Domingo Germán. Yu Chang had a two-run infield single and Manuel Margot drove in two with a single during a six-run eighth.