Sanchez, Tanaka lead Yanks to 7th straight win, beat Rays
NEW YORK (AP) – Gary Sanchez homered and almost hit another while Tampa Bay was trying to intentionally walk him, leading Masahiro Tanaka and the hard-charging New York Yankees to their season-best seventh straight win, 5-1 over the Rays on Saturday.
The Yankees closed within three games of AL East-leading Boston, their closest to the lead since mid-April. They began the day one game behind Baltimore and Detroit for the second wild-card spot, with the Orioles playing the Tigers later at night.
Tanaka (13-4) struck out 10 and took a shutout into the eighth inning. Chris Archer (8-18) tied the Tampa Bay record for losses in a season, set by Tanyon Sturtze in 2002.
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