Panic Time For Yankees? 3 Takeaways From ALDS Game 2 As Rays Go Up 2-0

The Yankees strutted into Tropicana Field talking about their Cy Young-favorite starter and a postseason-ready lineup. They whimpered out of it staring at a 2-0 ALDS hole.

After Tampa Bay ace Drew Rasmussen blanked the Yankees in Game 1, Freddy Peralta and the Rays finished the job in Game 2 with a controlling 5-2 win over New York in Mondays Game 2. 

Now the Yankees, who have never truly threatened at any point this series, must win three straight to survive and advance to the ALCS. The Rays are just one win away from advancing to the ALCS for the first time since 2020, when they lost to the Dodgers in the Fall Classic.

Here are my takeaways:

Perhaps the Yankees werent ready for the new Rays, because New York was playing like these were the old Rays. Theyre no longer just the scrappy, analytically-forward Rays of old who could be overpowered in a short series. 

Now, Tampa Bay has legitimate big bats, including Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda and Yandy Diaz, to complement their always-excellent pitching depth and clean defense. Both Aranda and Caminero were key to the Rays game-opening four-run fifth inning on Monday. Now, the Yankees can no longer afford to make completely avoidable mistakes and be given a runway to overcome them.

The Rays, as they have been all year, represent the better team. They showed it through their tighter fundamentals. They showed it through their elite situational baserunning. They showed it with their ability to pounce on multiple moments of weakness from the Yankees.

New York committed a total of five errors in Mondays Game 2. Tampa Bay committed none. The book is out. A team as well-rounded as the Rays has already beat the Yankees on paper. The moment that New York hurts its own chances, the game is over.

We can look at an example as recent as the final week of the regular season, when the Rays went to Yankee Stadium for a four-game series in the Bronx. Tampa Bay led 1-0 in the seventh inning with a great-fielding pitcher in Max Fried on the mound. Rays shortstop Taylor Walls pushed a bunt between the mound and first base, no Yankees fielder covered second base, and a run scored from third. Tampa Bay has created a run on that play multiple times this season, manager Kevin Cash said after that game. 

Its always impossible to defend. 

In doing so, the Rays create a wider margin for error before they even take the field for first pitch. Then, throw in their sold-out crowds at Tropicana Field so far in the ALDS, and the Yankees were clearly rattled on Monday. The loud support is there. The talent is there, tenfold. The Rays, finally, seem ready for their moment. After leading the American League in wins all year, all thats left is the pennant. 

The Yankees committed not one, not two, but three (!) errors in the first inning of Game 2. Weve seen this clown show too many times to count. The question is, how many times do Yankees officials need to see it before making fundamental changes? 

All three Yankees errors arrived within the first four batters of Schlittlers start. The Yankees ace, who is the favorite to win this years American League Cy Young award, deserved better. Schlittler himself is battling workload boundaries after blowing past his career-innings high (73) in the first week of June. That he was able to limit the Rays to just one run in the first despite the mistakes of his fielders was nothing short of a miracle.

First it was a fielding error by third baseman Ryan McMahon, which allowed Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz to reach first base with no outs. Aaron Boone considered replacing McMahon at third with infielder Anthony Volpe for Game 2, but the Yankees manager “wanted to prioritize defense.” McMahon recorded a career-worst -3 Defensive Runs Saved in 875 innings at third base this year for the Yankees. 

McMahons -3 DRS was ranked 87th out of 130 third basemen who completed at least 800 innings at the hot corner t