2024 Sunburst Awards: New York Yankees games 91-93
It’s always fun to beat the Yankees
“Sunburst Awards” is a series-by-series evaluation of player performance, where four different awards are given out after each series: Offensive player of the series, defensive player of the series, pitcher of the series, and highlight play of the series. This edition will be covering the 31st series of the season, where the Tampa Bay Rays took on the New York Yankees from July 9 to July 11, a three game series at Tropicana Field.
The Rays bounce back from a sweep to win their sixth series out of their last seven. Let’s give out some awards for an exciting AL East victory.
Game 1: Rays - 5 Yankees - 3 (recap)
Game 2: Rays - 1 Yankees - 2 (recap)
Game 3: Rays - 5 Yankees - 4 (recap)
Offensive Sunburst Award: Brandon Lowe
Lowe had himself a solid series at the plate, racking up five hits in just 10 plate appearances, earning himself his second Offensive Sunburst of the year.
One of those five hits includes this go-ahead RBI single in game three.
Lowe had a hard time staying healthy early in the year, though now is starting to hit his stride, sporting a batting average of .247.
Pitching Sunburst Award: Zach Eflin
Eflin earns his first Sunburst since May after a solid outing in game two of the series, allowing just one earned run in seven innings striking out six batters.
While the Rays may have lost this game scoring just one run, Eflin’s performance can’t be understated as he kept his team in a game they did not deserve to win.
Defensive Sunburst Award: Richie Palacios
Palacios’ spectacular backhanded play at second base wins him the Defensive Sunburst for this series, making an impressive running scoop and throw for the first out of the second inning in game two of the series.
Highlight Sunburst Award: Jose Caballero
As Pete Fairbanks said “Unlike Dez, he caught it.”
Conclusion
The Rays successfully bounce back after a poor series in Arlington to win another series and advance to just one game under .500. Their next series will be against the Cleveland Guardians, a true test as they currently lead the AL Central at 57-35. First pitch tonight is at 6:50.