After the New York Yankees managed just one hit in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, manager Aaron Boone opted to run out the same lineup for the second meeting with the Tampa Bay Rays.
That decision came under immediate scrutiny, with the Yankees’ first at-bat doing little to suggest a different approach would produce better results.
New York’s infield then endured a disastrous night, committing four errors and repeatedly handing Tampa Bay opportunities as the Yankees’ season moved dangerously close to ending.
Tampa Bay secured a 5-2 win to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. The Rays can now clinch in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Ben Rice supplied nearly all of New York’s offensive spark, launching two solo home runs to keep the Yankees within reach.
The rest of the lineup offered little support, with six other Yankees failing to record a hit and potentially forcing Boone to rethink his plan for the crucial third game.
Aaron Boone and the Yankees are one loss away from elimination following a 5-2 defeat against Tampa Bay
Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm was among the four New York players charged with an error
Richie Palacios delivered a two-run single that effectively put the game beyond New York’s reach
A lineup change would have been understandable regardless. After the Yankees’ offensive struggles and costly baserunning mistakes in Game 1, their defensive execution collapsed in the second contest.
The problems began immediately. During Tampa Bay’s opening at-bat, third baseman Ryan McMahon misplayed a ground ball from Yander Diaz, allowing it to skip off his glove and sail over his head.
Jazz Chisholm then failed to complete what should have been a routine double play. His throw toward first veered roughly two feet wide of Luis Garcia, giving Diaz a clear path to the plate for the game’s opening run.
The Yankees were charged with a third first-inning error when catcher Austin Wells was called for interference after his glove entered Liam Hicks’ swing path. New York escaped the inning without allowing further damage.
Rice briefly steadied the Yankees in the fourth inning, tying the game at 1-1 with a solo shot that stayed fair down the right-field line.
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Cam Schlittler, regarded as the front-runner for the American League Cy Young Award, was pulled in the fifth inning after surrendering six hits and recording only two strikeouts.
Once again, however, the Yankees’ defense failed to provide the support their starter needed.
With runners on second and third and no outs, New York’s infielders moved in to cut down a potential run at the plate. Chisholm was the exception, positioned approximately seven feet off the infield grass.
Cam Schlittler, New York’s top pitcher, allowed four runs on six hits Monday night
Ben Rice’s two solo home runs provided little more than consolation for the Yankees
Hicks sent a softly hit grounder toward Chisholm. Had the second baseman been positioned closer, he might at least have had a chance to throw to first while Jonathan Aranda remained at third. Instead, Aranda broke for home, leaving Chisholm with no realistic opportunity to make a play at the plate and giving Tampa Bay its second run.
The next at-bat, Chandler Simpson hit a ground ball toward Yankees rookie shortstop George Lombard that bounced off his glove to score Junior Caminero to make it a 3-1 game. Official scorers initially ruled it a hit, then changed it to an error, only to then change it back to a fielder’s choice.
Lombard would commit another mistake when his routine throw to first pulled Garcia off the bag to bring Jonny DeLuca aboard.
DeLuca would steal second, putting him 90 feet away from Simpson. Both were in perfect position to score when Richie Palacios knocked a ball into the outfield to make it a 5-1 game.
Rice’s second home run in the eighth inning was nothing more than window dressing as Tampa Bay surrendered just four hits on the night.
‘Obviously a really rough night, to say the least, from us,’ Boone said. ‘We gotta get over it.’
‘We gotta get over it and we’re playing for our lives on Tuesday night.’
It seems the mental errors on the field transitioned to the manager. The Yankees don’t play on Tuesday. They play Wednesday.
