MARK DIDTLER
Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Derek Jeter’s final season now has no chance of ending with an AL East title.
The New York Yankees were eliminated from division-crown contention when Ben Zobrist hit an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday night to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 1-0 win.
The Yankees lost for the fourth time in a five-game stretch in which they have scored only six runs, the Yankees are still on the fringe of the AL wild-card race with 13 games left.
“It’s the same story. We’ve been pitching really well but it’s been hard for us to score runs,” said Brett Gardner, who went 0 for 4. “We’ve got to win every day. … But we’re not in a good spot right now and it’s a shame because of our pitchers have really stepped up and done a good job, and as an offense we haven’t.”
Mired in an 0-for-24 slump, Jeter was given the night off. New York has won 13 East titles since Jeter’s first full season in 1996.
Yankees third baseman Chase Headley was ejected by plate umpire Marty Foster in the seventh for arguing a called strike.
“I didn’t think what I said to him warranted the response that I got, and it just kept going,” said Headley, who played for the first time since being hit in the jaw by a pitch thrown by Tampa Bay’s Jake McGee on Thursday.
“He questioned some strikes. You should be allowed to do that,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. “I just think there’s a better way to handle it.”
Logan Forsythe got the Rays’ third hit of the game, a one-out single in the ninth off Shawn Kelley (3-6) and went to second on James Loney’s single. After pinch-hitter David DeJesus struck out and pinch-hitter Matt Joyce walked, Zobrist lined his hit to right.
Joel Peralta (3-4) walked one while pitching the ninth to help Tampa Bay get its 21st shutout of the season.
The Rays became the first team since the 1973-75 Boston Red Sox to beat the Yankees 10 or more times in three straight seasons.
Alex Colome, recalled from Triple-A Durham by Tampa Bay before the game, allowed six hits over 6 2-3 innings in his second big league start this season.
Chris Capuano gave up two hits and four walks in six innings. The left-hander lasted just one-third of an inning in his previous start Wednesday, allowing four runs, four hits and two walks in the Yankees’ 8-5 come-from-behind victory over the Rays.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (small right elbow ligament tear) threw in an instructional league simulated game and could return this weekend. … Carlos Beltran, who missed five games due to right elbow soreness before pinch-hitting Sunday night, was the DH. He will have offseason surgery to remove a bone spur.
UP NEXT
The Rays will honor the retiring Jeter during a pregame ceremony Tuesday night. This is Jeter’s final road series against Tampa Bay. … Yankees RHP Michael Pineda (3-4) and Rays RHP Jake Odorizzi (10-12) are Tuesday’s scheduled starters. Odorizzi needs seven strikeouts to tie Matt Moore’s single-season rookie team record of 175.
WHERE’S JETER?
Some fans started chanting “De-rek Je-ter!” while waiting to see who would hit for Headley after his ejection. They responded by booing when Stephen Drew emerged from the dugout to finish the at-bat.
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