ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays did not need to overpower the New York Yankees on Monday night. They just needed to put the ball in play and let New York’s defense do the rest.
Richie Palacios lined a two-run single to cap a four-run fifth inning, and the Rays turned four Yankees errors into a 5-2 win in Game 2 of their American League Division Series, ESPN and the Associated Press reported. Tampa Bay leads the best-of-five series 2-0 and is one win from the AL Championship Series.
The fifth inning
With the score 1-1, Jonathan Aranda singled to open the bottom of the fifth against Cam Schlittler, and Junior Caminero doubled to right-center. Liam Hicks then bounced a ball to second base; with the rest of the infield drawn in, Jazz Chisholm Jr. was playing deeper and could only get the out at first as Aranda scored the go-ahead run.
Chandler Simpson followed with a grounder that rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. booted, scoring Caminero. After Simpson stole second, Lombard’s wide throw on Jonny DeLuca’s grounder was New York’s fourth error, and Palacios’ hit to center made it 5-1. “It was just one of those game things kind of compiled and stacked up on top of each other,” Lombard said, according to ESPN. “It wasn’t ideal.”
A rough start, too
The trouble began early. The Yankees made three errors in the first inning, the first team to do that in a postseason game since the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1975 ALCS, according to ESPN Research and the AP. Schlittler, who went 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA in the regular season, limited the damage to one run then, but lasted just 4⅓ innings, allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits.
Ben Rice provided New York’s only offense with a pair of solo home runs, the first tying the game in the fourth. Playing without three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge, who is out with a calf injury, the Yankees have scored two runs in the series.
Tampa Bay’s bullpen holds
Freddy Peralta allowed one run in 4⅔ innings. In the fifth, Cam Booser took over with two runners on, walked Rice to load the bases, then escaped when Cody Bellinger flied out to the warning track in center. Ian Seymour covered three innings, and Bryan Baker pitched a perfect ninth for his second save of the series.
“Good teams do not rely on just one or two people,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said, per ESPN. “We rely on all nine in the lineup, the guys on the bench and certainly our entire pitching staff.”
What’s next
Game 3 is Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, with left-hander Max Fried (5-5, 2.80) projected to start for New York against right-hander Nick Martinez (15-6, 3.10). A loss would end the Yankees’ season and extend their World Series title drought to 17 seasons.
Photo: Opakapaka via Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Aerial view of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., September 2009; file photo.
Sources: ESPN; Associated Press (via NBC News).
This article was produced with AI assistance and is based on reporting from ESPN and Associated Press (via NBC News).