PHOENIX — The Yankees spent most of Saturday night balancing two realities at Chase Field. Cam Schlittler again gave them a strong start, but every inning carried more weight after Tampa Bay had already won in walk-off fashion.
New York had a chance to keep its fading American League East pursuit from slipping further away. Instead, the Yankees left with a 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, their division deficit stretched to five games with eight remaining.
The Yankees did enough to make the game winnable. Ben Rice hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Heliot Ramos and Austin Wells homered in the sixth. Schlittler survived his first real lapse in command in weeks and finished six innings with only one earned run allowed.
Arizona kept answering. Jordan Lawlar erased New York’s first lead with a two-run triple in the fifth after Schlittler mishandled a bunt. Corbin Carroll tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the sixth after two walks and a bunt single loaded the bases.
The stakes had been obvious before first pitch. Several Yankees watched Tampa Bay beat Boston 2-1 from the visiting clubhouse, a result that pushed the Rays five games ahead. New York had won eight of its previous 10 games, yet Tampa Bay’s surge had left almost no room for another missed opportunity.
The Yankees then received two scoreless innings from their bullpen. Brent Headrick recorded two outs in the seventh before Paul Blackburn finished that inning and worked through the eighth. The game stayed 3-3, leaving New York one clean inning from another chance at the plate.
Schlittler had done enough to keep the Yankees there. He allowed three hits and three runs, only one earned, while striking out six over 98 pitches. His ERA fell to 1.94. The margin for error had become almost nonexistent by then.
Only then did the game pivot to Aaron Boone’s most consequential bullpen call of the night.
Boone turns to Fulmer with game on the line
Boone handed the bottom of the ninth to Michael Fulmer rather than closer David Bednar. Fulmer had worked two-thirds of a scoreless inning in Friday’s 9-2 win, while Bednar had not pitched since throwing two innings Wednesday in Minnesota.
Fulmer appeared to strike out Ildemaro Vargas on a full-count pitch, but Vargas challenged the call through MLB’s automated ball-strike system. The pitch was ruled a ball, giving Arizona a leadoff walk.
Fulmer struck out Lawlar. Pavin Smith then pinch-hit and drove Fulmer’s second-pitch cutter 391 feet to right field for a two-run walk-off homer.
Juan Morillo earned the win for Arizona, improving to 5-4. Fulmer took his first loss and saw his ERA rise from 1.59 to 3.09. There was no save.
The choice stood out because Bednar entered the night with 34 saves and a 2.58 ERA. Fulmer, signed by the Yankees in late August, had thrown only 11 1/3 major league innings this season before Saturday and remains part of a crowded postseason bullpen picture.
Schlittler absorbs blame after uneven stretch
Schlittler’s fifth-inning error helped Arizona score twice, and eight straight pitches outside the zone to open the sixth created the tying rally. He recovered by striking out Nolan Arenado and Tim Tawa with two runners in scoring position.
The right-hander focused on his own mistake after the game.
“I’ll take the blame for that,” Schlittler said. “I made an error there and let up two runs. That’s baseball, but that one is on me.”
Schlittler has allowed one earned run or fewer in 24 starts, joining Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson as the only pitchers in the Live Ball Era with at least 24 such starts in a season, excluding openers.
Bednar’s idle window sharpens bullpen contrast
The Yankees’ relief sequence offered a postseason preview. Headrick and Blackburn combined for two scoreless innings before the ninth. Bednar remained unused, while Fulmer worked on consecutive days.
Fulmer entered Saturday with a 1.59 ERA and had held opponents to a .171 average in his Yankees appearances. The workload contrast was sharper: Fulmer had pitched Friday, while Bednar had two full days off after his two-inning outing Wednesday.
That matters with the Yankees sorting through a pitching staff that will shrink for October. Bednar is an established late-inning option. Fulmer has pitched well enough to remain in the roster conversation, but his spot is less secure with several relievers competing for limited postseason places.
Saturday supplied another evaluation point, and this one came in maximum leverage.
Yankees lose more ground before Rays showdown
The loss dropped the Yankees to 89-65. Tampa Bay improved to 94-60, leaving New York five games back in the AL East. The Yankees still held a 5 1/2-game advantage over Boston for the top AL wild-card position.
Boone acknowledged how narrow the path has become with four games against Tampa Bay beginning Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
“We sweep, and then it gets interesting,” Boone said. “But you can’t sweep before [Sunday’s] game.”
The Yankees close the Arizona series Sunday with Will Warren scheduled to face Corbin Burnes. After Saturday, New York must keep the division race alive while also deciding which relievers Boone trusts when the next tied ninth inning arrives.
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