Tampa Bay Rays were one victory away from returning to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2020, after beating the New York Yankees 5-2 in the second game of the Division Series.
Tampa Bay took a 2-0 lead in the series thanks, in large part, to a forgettable first inning by New York, which committed three defensive errors. In total, the Yankees finished the game with four errors.
New York starter Cam Schlittler, considered one of the favorites for the American League Cy Young Award, worked just 4.1 innings. He allowed six hits and four runs, although only two were earned, in addition to walking two and striking out two batters.
“That’s baseball. It happens,” Schlittler acknowledged after the game. The pitcher avoided blaming his teammates and assumed a good part of the defeat.
Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda each had two hits for the Rays, while Richie Palacios drove in two runs.
The Yankees’ offense was limited again. After two games, New York has only two runs and five hits in the series. Ben Rice was the exception, hitting two solo home runs in the second game.
Tampa Bay’s pitching was also decisive. Freddy Peralta, Cam Booser, Ian Seymour and Bryan Baker limited the Yankees to four hits.
New York now faces an extreme situation. The Yankees are the last Major League team to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games. They achieved it in the 2017 Division Series. In total, only 10 teams have managed to overcome a 0-2 deficit in this format.
The third game will be played on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time at Yankee Stadium. The Rays will have their first opportunity to seal their place in the Championship Series there.
Tampa Bay also already knows what it’s like to celebrate in the Bronx this season: it won the American League East Division title precisely in New York on September 22.
