The Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Rays in front of 25,007 fans at Tropicana Field was decided by a costly fielding error by left fielder Jake Bauers in the seventh inning. But they fought valiantly until they were even further behind.
With the win, the Rays (27-6) now have a 10-game division lead over the Yankees (17-16), who have dropped eight straight. When asked again about the early-season divisional disadvantage, manager Aaron Boone retorted:
“It’s a long-ass season and we’re grinding right now.” “It’s tough for us right now. But we gotta find a way and the guys are competing their asses off.”
Where it went wrong
Jhony Brito, who started for the Yankees and lasted four innings, was responsible for a four-run deficit when he allowed two home runs in the third inning. Against the Rays’ right-hander Yonny Chirinos, the Yankees were hitless until the fourth inning, but they ultimately knocked him out in the sixth and tied the game soon after.
With one out, Anthony Rizzo started the rally with a single. Gleyber Torres finished it with an RBI double that made the score 4-1. Chirinos walked DJ LeMahieu, and then lefty reliever Garrett Cleavinger came in and struck out Willie Calhoun for the second out.
After falling behind 4-0 early, the Yankees rallied thanks to a three-run homer from Harrison Bader in the sixth inning, only to fall behind again in the seventh on a play that should have been made. He hit a three-run home run 436 feet to the left-center field gap, channeling his October form to make it 4-4. Bader hit the 96 mph fastball out of the park, tossed his bat, and pointed back toward the Yankees’ dugout as he jogged up the first-base line.
A line drive to left field was hit by Wander Franco in the seventh inning. Bauers retreated and leaped in an attempt to catch it, but the ball slid between his fingers. The late relay allowed Yandy Diaz to score from first base and give his team a 5-4 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees could have mounted a comeback. With one out, LeMahieu got on base thanks to an infield hit, and he eventually scored on Kyle Higashioka‘s pinch-hit double. The tying run was only 90 feet away before Bader popped out to shortstop and Isiah Kiner-Falefa struck out as a pinch hitter for the left-handed hitting Bauers against left-hander Colin Poche. With two outs in the ninth inning, Anthony Volpe singled off Rays closer Jason Adam, but the game ended when Anthony Rizzo lined out to center.
Bauers’ costly mistake
In the bottom of the seventh inning, with one out and a runner on first, Wander Franco hit a line drive to left field off of Jimmy Cordero. Bauers retreated and leaped in an attempt to capture it. As Yandy Dáz raced around the bases with the winning run, the ball ticked off Bauers’ glove and rolled toward the wall. The Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Rays on Friday night at Tropicana Field capped off an intense first meeting of the season between two American League East rivals.
Home plate umpire Dan Merzel first called Dáz out for running past catcher Jose Trevino without sliding. In the visiting dugout, the Yankees celebrated for a short time before realizing that the Rays planned to challenge. Manager Aaron Boone would probably say, “We thought he was safe.”
In the bottom of the seventh inning, with one out and a runner on first, Wander Franco hit a line drive to left field off of Jimmy Cordero. Bauers retreated and leaped in an attempt to capture it. As Yandy Dáz raced around the bases with the winning run, the ball ticked off Bauers’ glove and rolled toward the wall. The Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Rays on Friday night at Tropicana Field capped off an intense first meeting of the season between two American League East rivals.
According to Bauers:
“That ball’s got to be caught. I got a bad read, a bad jump on it. I couldn’t recover. We’re not in that situation if I make that play. No excuses.”
The bench tussle
After Randy Arozarena was hit twice in two at-bats after his first-inning home run, tensions rose and both sides were warned in the fifth inning. In the third inning, Brito hit him, generating boos; in the fifth inning, Albert Abreu clipped a dissatisfied Arozarena with a sinker, prompting the umpires to issue a warning to both benches.
Tanner Swanson, the Yankees’ catching instructor, and Kyle Snyder, the Rays’ pitching coach, appeared to be jawing at each other in the dugouts, but it didn’t affect the rest of the game in any way.
In Boone’s words, “We’re not trying to hit anyone.”
When Rays manager Kevin Cash objected to his team being penalized for having a prominent player hit twice, the umpires ejected both benches. Abreu told Arozarena on the field that he thought the plunkings were inadvertent to calm things down, and the Rays eventually came to the same conclusion.
The Yankees lost the game
The Yankees (17-16) are already 10 games behind the Rays in the AL East. It is the first time, they have faced a double-digit divisional disadvantage since 1984 when they were 10 games behind the Tigers just 19 games into the season. A repetition of that fact irritated Boone during a heated postgame press conference.
“We’ve got to go out and play,” he declared. “I don’t care what the number is.”
According to him, if they did it, they would be in a good spot. He told them to check with him tomorrow to see how significant it was. He emphasized that it was important and even suggested asking if it was in the double digits. He understood that they needed to get it right and perform well, otherwise, it wouldn’t matter. Boone acknowledged that it was a long season and they were currently struggling. He mentioned that they needed to find a solution, but added that the team was putting in a lot of effort.
The fact that this is not 1984 gives Boone and the Yankees comfort. Since there were no Wild Cards back then, the Yankees are currently only two games off of a playoff place under the current postseason setup. There is no denying, however, that their current position is further behind expectations due to a mix of injuries and underperformance.
“It’s super early,” Harrison Bader observed. “We’re just finding our groove and still playing a lot of good baseball. So there’s no concern whatsoever.”
