Caballero's tiebreaking double in the 10th lifts Rays past Yankees 2-0

NEW YORK (AP) — José Caballero hit a go-ahead double in the 10th inning and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 2-0 on Saturday.

Caballero opened the 10th by lining an 0-2 fastball from Caleb Ferguson (0-3) over center fielder Alex Verdugo to easily score automatic runner Richie Palacios. Caballero stole third and scored on a single by former Yankee Ben Rortvedt.

“I was just trying to go the other way. I wanted to knock him in,” said Caballero, who got his first career go-ahead hit in extra innings and was given the green light to steal third. “If I miss, I wanted to move the guy over at least.”

Jason Adam (1-0) retired Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo in the ninth. He got Soto to hit a fly ball to the left-field warning track and sparked some boos at Judge, who struck out for the fourth time.

“They’re good hitters,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “That’s who we want facing them. I think Jason he enjoys and he embraces those big moments and you can argue the three that he went through are as good as any in baseball.”

Garrett Cleavinger pitched a 1-2-3 10th for his first major league save, completing a four-hitter and the Rays’ first shutout this season. Cleavinger earned the save because Cash said struggling closer Pete Fairbanks was unavailable due to a dead arm after experiencing some stomach issues Friday.

“It’s awesome, our hitters showed up when it matters most,” Adam said. “Top to bottom a really well-played game."

New York was blanked for the third time.

“We just didn’t mount enough,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Following a pregame ceremony to honor retiring broadcaster John Sterling, the Yankees lost for the fourth time in six games as Judge struck out four times for the 10th time in his big league career.

“I’ve heard worse, and I’d probably be doing the same in their situation,” Judge said.

New York starter Nestor Cortes dodged trouble through portions of his outing and allowed six hits in seven innings. The left-hander struck out a season-high nine and walked none in his second-longest outing of the season.

Tampa Bay’s Zach Eflin matched Cortes, allowing three hits in six innings. Eflin gave up two hits to Soto, who is hitting .354.

“Just a lot of strikes, a lot of late movement,” Cash said of Eflin.

Tampa Bay started an all-righty batting order against Cortes, who was aided by a strong throw from center fielder Trent Grisham to third that caught René Pinto trying to advance on Yandy Díaz’s third-inning single.

STRUGGLING

New York 2B Gleyber Torres did not start for the first time this season and grounded out as a pinch hitter for the second out of the 10th. Torres is hitting .195 with no homers and two RBIs and has one hit in his last 29 plate appearances.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: OF Josh Lowe (strained right oblique) did not feel any pain after his first rehab game with Triple-A Durham Friday and was expected to play the outfield again before getting at-bats as a designated hitter Sunday. … INF Taylor Walls (right hip surgery) was transferred to the 60-day IL.. … RHP Erasmo Ramírez’s contract was selected from Durham and LHP Jacob Lopez was optioned to the Bulls.

Yankees: INF Kevin Smith was outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

UP NEXT

Rays RHP Aaron Civale (2-1 2.74 ERA) opposes New York RHP Luis Gil (0-1, 3.86) in Sunday afternoon’s series finale.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes (65) reacts after a pitch during the seventh inning inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Saturday, April 20, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Tampa Bay Rays' Harold Ramírez (43) hits a single during the sixth inning inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, April 20, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge (99) reacts after striking out against the Tampa Bay Rays during the sixth inning inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 20, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes (65) reacts on his way to the dugout during the seventh inning inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Saturday, April 20, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Tampa Bay Rays' Richie Palacios (1) scores against the New York Yankees in the 10th inning inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 20, 2024 in New York. The Rays won 2-1. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Stocks are rising on Wall Street Friday following a government report showing job growth rose modestly in April, a sign that persistently high interest rates may be starting to take a bigger toll on the world’s largest economy.

The S&P 500 was 1.1% higher in afternoon trading and on track to erase its losses for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 425 points, or 1.1%, as of 12:15 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite added 1.9%.

The nation’s employers added 175,000 jobs last month, down sharply from the blockbuster increase of 315,000 in March. It was also well below the 233,000 gain that economists had predicted. April’s average hourly earnings also rose less than expected. The report suggests that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive streak of rate hikes may finally be cooling the pace of hiring.

“The demand for labor is slowing, which will eventually ease inflation pressures, giving the Fed some leeway to cut rates later this year,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial. “Slower payroll growth and fewer hours worked imply the economy is slowing at a measured pace. This jobs report is consistent with the soft landing narrative.”

Treasury yields in the bond market mostly fell following the jobs report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.53% from 4.59% late Thursday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, fell to 4.82% from 4.88%.

The U.S. economy is in a tight spot, where the hope is that it remains strong enough to stay out of a recession but not so strong that it worsens the already stalled progress on inflation. That is essentially the “soft landing” the Fed is hoping to achieve as it tries to cool the rate of inflation to its target of 2%. Inflation at the consumer level stood at 3.5% in March, far below the peak of 9.1% nearly two years ago.

Stubbornly high readings on inflation this year pushed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to say on Wednesday that it will likely take “longer than previously expected” to get enough confidence about inflation to cut interest rates.

“Some of this data coming out of the employment report dampens that narrative a little bit,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management. "They want to cut interest rates, but they need more confidence in the inflation data and today's wage data is a little bit more confidence for them.”

The Fed’s main interest rate has been sitting at its highest level since 2001, and cuts would release some pressure on the economy and financial markets.

The benchmark S&P 500 fell 4.2% in April, its first monthly loss since October, as signals of stubbornly high inflation forced traders to ratchet back expectations for when the Fed could begin easing interest rates.

After coming into the year forecasting six or more cuts to rates in 2024, traders are now largely betting on just one or two, if any, according to data from CME Group.

Technology stocks accounted for much of the rally Friday. Apple jumped 6.5% after announcing a mammoth $110 billion stock buyback. The tech giant reported late Thursday its steepest quarterly decline in iPhone sales since the outset of the pandemic.

Microsoft rose 2.1% and Nvidia added 3%.

Several companies rose after reporting quarterly results that topped Wall Street's estimates, including Amgen, which climbed 13% and Live Nation Entertainment, which added 9.8%.

Booking Holdings rose 4.6% after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter bookings and revenue. Another online travel company, Expedia Group, didn't fare as well. Its shares slumped 13.5% after the company's latest quarterly results beat Wall Street targets but lowered its full-year bookings guidance because its Vrbo rental unit has been slow to recover from its migration to Expedia’s platform.

In Europe, Germany’s DAX gained 0.6%, while the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.5% and London’s FTSE 100 added 0.5%.

Markets in Tokyo and mainland China were closed for holidays. The Japanese yen strengthened slightly against the dollar.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders pass by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 3, 2024. Asian shares were mostly higher Friday ahead of a report on the U.S. jobs market, with several major markets including Tokyo and Shanghai closed for holidays. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 3, 2024. Asian shares were mostly higher Friday ahead of a report on the U.S. jobs market, with several major markets including Tokyo and Shanghai closed for holidays. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader smiles near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)