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Yankees keep rolling, sting Tampa Bay Rays Monday, 4-1

The crowd was small and mostly subdued, hits were scattered, and Alex Rodriguez didn’t do what everyone was hoping he might.

No doubt: the Yankees-Rays late April game on a Monday night felt exactly as such, made even more so by the fact the Subway Series with the Mets preceded it and the Red Sox await in Boston on Friday.

But, of course, the game counted all the same, and in the end the Yankees sent the chilly crowd home happy with a 4-1 win over Tampa Bay, catcher Brian McCann the hero with a home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

It’s the Yankees’ ninth win in their last 11 games as they remain atop the American League East, now with sole possession of first place.

Check out the rest of Monday night from the Bronx:

TURNING POINT: That sixth inning, including the McCann home run. Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, McCann launched a 379-foot solo bomb to right field to break the score. It was just McCann’s second of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Yankees when no one else in their lineup was hitting much.

A batter later Carlos Beltran, who’s had a brutal start in 2015, doubled off the bottom of the wall in center and came home to score after Stephen Drew doubled down the right field line minutes later.

Fun fact: Beltran’s double traveled 409 feet, or 30 feet more than McCann’s homer.

HIGHLIGHTS: The Yankees also scored in the fifth inning when Brett Gardner walked with the bases loaded to score the Yanks’ first run. But A-Rod, with the script in his hands to make home run No. 660 a grand one, followed up with a grounder to third to end the inning.

In the eighth the Yankees scored again with the bases loaded without putting the bat on the ball: Jacoby Ellsbury, back from a small hip injury that kept him out Sunday, drove in McCann from third when he was hit by a pitch with two out.

And, once again, the Yankees’ bullpen was near-perfect throwing a scoreless three and 1/3 innings. Like its been all year, Dellin Betances tossed the eighth inning and Andrew Miller notched the save, throwing the ninth up three runs.

LOWLIGHTS: Up 1-0 in the top of the sixth inning, the Yankees drew their infield in when David DeJesus reached third base and one out. The Rays’ Asdrubal Cabrera then crushed a hot shot at Stephen Drew playing second but Drew’s poor throw home that bounced allowed DeJesus to slide in safely ahead of catcher Brian McCann’s tag. (McCann made a great scoop on the throw.) It erased the Yankees 1-1 lead and cost Warren the chance of earning the win.

WARRENTED: Adam Warren had the best outing of his young career, striking out six batters despite not earning the win.

A-ROD: Rodriguez finished the night 0-for-3 with an intentional walk.

Rodriguez popped up in his first at-bat, swinging at the first pitch, seeming as if he wants to get 660 out of the way.

In his second at-bat he bounced to Evan Longoria at third who made a nice play on a short-hop. (In his second at-bat, the scoreboard mentioned that Rodriguez has the most hits of any active player against the Rays, with 216. Nothing about the home run mark.)

His third time was that fifth inning when he bounced to third to end the inning. His fourth time up, in the seventh, A-Rod worked the count to 3-0, and the Rays gave him a free pass.

EMPTY NEST: The announced paid-attendance was 34,590, but it’s unlikely that many people really showed on an actually-not-that-cold night. (It was 58 degrees at first pitch.)

NEXT! The Yankees and Rays will play the second game of a three-game set at 7:05 p.m. For the Yankees, Chase Whitley will get his first start of the season as the Rays will throw Jake Odorizzi (2-1, 1.65 ERA).