It was a stroke of luck for the New York Yankees to escape Monday’s opening frame having surrendered just a single run during Game 2 of the American League Division Series matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Even with their expected AL Cy Young recipient, Cam Schlittler, pitching, the New York defense stumbled through a chaotic first inning, committing three miscues that handed the Rays an early 1-0 advantage.
In the end, these blunders foreshadowed the rest of a sloppy evening where the Yankees racked up four total defensive slip-ups, enabling the Rays to secure a 5-2 victory and grab a commanding 2-0 edge in the series.
Right at the start of the game, Schlittler got Yandy Díaz to hit a grounder that normally would have resulted in an easy out. Instead, the ball deflected off Ryan McMahon’s mitt, letting Díaz get on base safely.
After advancing to second base following a single off the bat of Jonathan Aranda, Díaz crossed home plate courtesy of the Yankees’ second defensive misplay of the inning.
When Junior Caminero hit a grounder, Jazz Chisholm Jr. sailed a throw to first base that derailed what might have been an inning-ending double play. While Chisholm managed to record the force out at second thanks to a sharp play by George Lombard Jr., his subsequent throw across the diamond missed the mark entirely, ricocheting off the front of the Tampa Bay dugout.
The wild toss gifted Díaz a free path to home plate and permitted Caminero to move up to second base.
During the subsequent plate appearance, New York faltered for a third time in the inning as catcher’s interference by Austin Wells wiped out an apparent strikeout.
Liam Hicks chased a 1-2 fastball for an empty swing to end the at-bat. However, a video review requested by the Rays confirmed that Wells’ catcher’s mitt clearly touched Hicks’ bat during his swing.
Slow-motion footage demonstrated that the interaction actually occurred after the ball had settled into Wells’ glove. Even though Hicks swung late and had no realistic shot at hitting the ball, the ruling of catcher’s interference stood, granting Hicks a free pass to first.
This development placed baserunners on first and second with only one out, putting Schlittler and the Yankees in a highly precarious position.
Nonetheless, Schlittler is the frontrunner for the Cy Young Award for good reason. He managed to coax two ground outs to escape the jam with no additional runs crossing the plate, keeping Tampa Bay’s advantage to a single run.
Even so, the defensive breakdowns cost New York more than just a digit on the scoreboard. Schlittler had to throw 19 pitches in that chaotic opening frame, an elevated workload that ultimately cut his performance short. He lasted only 4 1/3 innings on the mound and was charged with the defeat.
