ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hiroki Kuroda’s streak of retiring 17 straight Rays was fractured when Matt Joyce laced a leadoff double to right in the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 4-2 win Sunday.
Evan Longoria followed with an RBI single and the Yankees’ lead was sliced to a run. Two groundball outs moved Longoria to third before Kuroda walked Vince Belnome.
With Shawn Kelley hot in the bullpen, Joe Girardi called for the slider-throwing right-hander after Joe Maddon sent Brandon Guyer to hit for Jose Molina.
Kelley got the count to 1-2 with 84-mph sliders before blowing a 94-mph fastball past Guyer to strand two.
“That is a huge out because if he doesn’t [get him], they tie the score and have a chance to take the lead,’’ Girardi said.
Thanks to Kelley, who got three outs in the seventh Saturday night, the Rays never tied the score or went ahead.
After Mark Teixeira’s solo homer upped the lead to 4-2, Girardi called for Dellin Betances, and he fanned two of the four batters he faced in a scoreless eighth. David Robertson followed with a perfect ninth for his 33rd save in 35 chances and 21st straight.
For Kelley and Betances, it was more of what the Yankees are used to than what happened Wednesday night in Baltimore, when they combined to allow four runs and four hits (two homers) in three innings in a 5-3 loss.
The solid bullpen outing followed a very good performance by Kuroda (8-8).
“He gave us exactly what we needed,’’ Teixeira said.
Catcher Brian McCann, in his first game back from the seven-day concussion disabled list, was impressed with Kuroda’s stuff.
“He was splitting both sides of the plate, he was awesome,’’ McCann said of the 39-year-old right-hander, who worked on two extra days’ rest. “His movement kept them off balance.”