The New York Yankees picked the worst possible night to forget how to play defense. In Game 2 of the AL Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, New York committed four errors, including three in the first inning alone. That’s the first time a team has committed three errors in the opening frame of a postseason game since the 1975 Oakland Athletics. The result was a 5-2 Rays win and a 2-0 series lead that has the Yankees on the brink of elimination.
The absence of Aaron Judge loomed large. Judge was out of the lineup with an injury, and without their biggest bat the Yankees couldn’t generate enough offense to overcome the defensive miscues. Ben Rice did his best to keep things interesting with his second home run of the game in the eighth inning, but by then the Rays had already built a 5-1 lead. Cam Schlittler, the likely AL Cy Young winner, was chased in the fifth inning after a misaligned infield and a flubbed grounder helped Tampa Bay extend its advantage.
For Suncoast baseball fans who spend every March watching these teams up close during spring training at Steinbrenner Field and Ed Smith Stadium, this one had to be tough to watch. The Rays played clean, fundamental baseball while the Yankees unraveled. New York is now one loss away from another season without a World Series title. That would be 17 straight years. Do you think the Yankees can fight back, or are the Rays closing this one out?
