ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays never lost sight of their formula Monday night: put the ball in play, make the Yankees defend every pitch and every out, and keep coming.
That approach finally cracked Cam Schlittler in the fifth inning, when Tampa Bay stacked together a four-run burst to beat New York 5-2 in Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field. With the win, the Rays moved one victory away from the ALCS and will head to Game 3 at Yankee Stadium with a 2-0 series lead.
The inning started with two of Tampa Bay’s “Big Three” doing the damage. Jonathan Aranda singled, Junior Caminero followed with a 112.4 mph double to right-center, and the Rays immediately had runners in scoring position. From there, the bottom half of the lineup kept the pressure on a Yankees defense that kept giving them extra chances.
Liam Hicks rolled a grounder to Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second, and Chisholm took the sure out at first instead of trying to get Aranda at the plate. Then Chandler Simpson, one of the hardest players in the majors to strike out, slapped a grounder to the left of the mound that George Lombard Jr. couldn’t handle. Simpson pumped his right fist as he reached first, and Tampa Bay had a two-run lead.
Schlittler’s night ended there. He finished with two strikeouts, his fewest of the season and tied for the fewest in any game in his career.
The Rays still weren’t finished. Simpson stole second, Jonny DeLuca reached on another error by Lombard, and the inning kept snowballing for New York.
Tampa Bay had already opened the scoring in the first, taking advantage of a sloppy Yankees defense behind Schlittler. Yandy Díaz reached on an error by third baseman Ryan McMahon, moved to second on a single by Aranda and scored when New York botched an attempt to turn a grounder by Junior Caminero into two outs.
Even then, the inning felt bigger than the one run the Rays got out of it. Tampa Bay had three errors and another misplay on a Chandler Simpson grounder, yet only one run crossed the plate.
That missed chance briefly mattered when Ben Rice tied the game with a homer off Freddy Peralta in the fourth, New York’s first hit of the night.
But the Rays’ contact-heavy approach kept showing up. Tampa Bay struck out less than any other team in the Majors this season, and that stubborn refusal to give away outs was on display from the start. Schlittler didn’t record a strikeout in the first two innings, something he has done only three times in his young career.
By the end, Kevin Cash was simply counting outs, most of them from lefty Ian Seymour, as the Rays moved closer to the next round.
In best-of-five postseason series, teams that go up 2-0 have won 83 of 93 times, an 89% clip. In Division Series under the current 2-2-1 format, teams that win the first two at home are 33-for-36, or 92%. The last team to rally from an 0-2 hole in a best-of-five series was the Yankees, who did it in the 2017 ALDS against Cleveland.
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Rays Just Sent Yankees A Clear Message With This Game 2 Move
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For Game 2, Tampa Bays lineup sent a message of its own by going with DeLuca over Mullins against Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler. It is the sort of decision that reflects how the Rays operate at this time of year, favoring current form and specific history over reputation, even with Mullins having arrived as a notable offseason addition. [Read more 🡒]
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It was the kind of postseason decision that can define a series before it really starts, especially for a Rays team that has long been built around pitching judgment and nerve. After Rasmussen finished his job, Bryan Baker was asked to finish it off, and he did just that by striking out a key Yankees hitter to seal the 1-0 win and give Tampa Bay an early edge. [Read more 🡒]
Chandler Simpson Is Giving Rays Fans A New Reason To Believe
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Offensively, Simpson has kept forcing opposing clubs to adjust, and Rays manager Kevin Cash has pointed to his ability to adapt as defenses and pitch plans change around him. Simpson finished second in the American League batting average race and led the league in multi-hit games and singles, production that makes him a problem even when teams think they have the right approach. For a Rays club always looking for the next edge, Simpson is becoming the kind of everyday difference-maker that can shift the tone around the roster. [Read more 🡒]