TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — Ian Seymour struck out 12 batters over 5 1/3 innings and the Tampa Bay Rays erased an early deficit with a four-run fourth inning to beat the New York Yankees 6-4 on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at George Steinbrenner Field.

The victory evened the three-game series at one win apiece after the Yankees won the opener 5-1 on Monday. Tampa Bay improved to 53-36, while New York fell to 50-41.

Seymour (6-1) allowed five hits and three earned runs in his third consecutive strong outing. He did not walk a batter and racked up a season-high 12 strikeouts. The left-hander had won his previous two starts, including a six-inning, one-run effort at Kansas City on July 2 and a 6 2/3-inning, zero-run performance against the Royals on June 25.

Bryan Baker worked a scoreless ninth inning for his 24th save, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Will Warren (7-4) took the loss for New York. He surrendered six runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out four.

The Yankees struck first with a three-run third inning. Max Schuemann led off with a bunt single off Seymour, and Trent Grisham doubled to put runners at second and third. After Paul Goldschmidt struck out, Ben Rice drove a 1-0 pitch over the left-center field wall for his 26th home run, giving New York a 3-2 lead.

The Rays had taken a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Victor Mesa Jr. led off with a solo home run to right field, his fourth of the season. Later in the frame, Yandy Díaz singled to left, scoring Richie Palacios from second.

Tampa Bay answered decisively in the fourth. Taylor Walls singled and scored on a double by Palacios to tie the game at 3. Hunter Feduccia then crushed a two-run homer to right center, his second of the year, putting the Rays ahead 5-3. Díaz followed by hitting his 13th home run to right field, making it 6-3.

The Yankees pulled within 6-4 in the seventh. Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled and Jasson Domínguez followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Ali Sánchez lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Chisholm.

New York outhit Tampa Bay 11-8 but could not overcome the four-run inning. Rice finished 3-for-4 with the home run and three RBIs. Grisham had a double and a run scored. Díaz went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. Mesa Jr. had two hits and a homer. Feduccia went 1-for-2 with a walk and a two-run homer.

The Yankees bullpen kept the game close after Warren’s exit. Paul Blackburn tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out one. Tim Hill worked 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit. Brent Headrick pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. For Tampa Bay, Cam Booser recorded two outs and a strikeout in relief of Seymour.

Defensive plays of note included a strong throw from Rays right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. to third baseman Junior Caminero to first baseman Jonathan Aranda to double off Cody Bellinger at second base in the sixth inning, stranding Ryan McMahon at third.

The game took 2 hours, 38 minutes before a crowd of 18,115.

Tampa Bay had won 10 of its previous 13 games entering Tuesday, while the Yankees had dropped eight of their last 11. The series concludes Wednesday and Thursday before both teams head on the road.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Tampa Bay Rays 7, New York Yankees 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected New York with a 51.60 percent probability to win. The Yankees had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 10 went under the over/under line of 8.