ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ CC Sabathia showed exactly what a $500,000 bonus meant to him.
Not a thing.
At least, not a thing when forced, in his mind, to choose between the money and protecting a teammate.
Cruising over five one-hit innings, which put Sabathia two innings away from triggering a $500,000 bonus in his contract for completing 155 innings this season _ and with an 11-0 lead _ the veteran left-hander hit Rays catcher Jesus Sucre in the left thigh area with no one out in the sixth inning.
Both teams had been issued warnings so Sabathia was immediately ejected by plate umpire Vic Carapazza, as was manager Aaron Boone, which is automatic after a hit-batsman following warnings.
"That's for you, (expletive)," Sabathia could be seen mouthing toward the Rays' dugout as he defiantly left the field, staring at the opposition during the entirety of the walk to his own dugout.
It was a clear retaliatory pitch for the 93-mph fastball Rays right-hander Andrew Kittredge buzzed Austin Romine with near his head in the top of the sixth (Carapazza warned both dugouts after the pitch).
That pitch appeared to be a reaction to Sabathia hitting Jake Bauers in the hand an inning earlier.
The Yankees, already with a 7-0 lead, proceeded to tag Kittredge for four runs in the inning, on a Brett Gardner triple, an Aaron Judge sacrifice fly and home runs by Luke Voit, who had three hits and two RBIs, and Giancarlo Stanton that made it 11-0.
Sabathia, as dominant as he's been all season, allowed one hit over five innings, striking out five. In theory, he could still pick up the bonus if Boone uses him for two innings in relief Sunday at Fenway Park.
The Yankees, who went on to a 12-1 win that trimmed their magic number of one to clinch home-field advantage for the AL wild-card game, gave Sabathia a lead before he threw a pitch, tallying four runs in the first.
Three came on Miguel Andujar's 27th homer, a shot off right-hander Jaime Schultz that made it 4-0. A wild pitch brought in Gardner, who led off with a double for the first run.
The Yankees got three more in the fourth on an RBI double by Voit, an RBI single by Romine and a sacrifice fly by Judge, which made it 7-0.
