The Yankees have once again found themselves in an all too familiar situation and will be fighting for survival as they return to the Bronx to face the Rays in a playoff game.
Whose fault is it? Well, let’s look at the facts. The Yankees’ pitching rotation isn’t first on the list, with Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler allowing two or fewer earned runs, but the offense appears to be on life support. Ben Rice is one of the few saving graces on this team, but the infield’s inability to execute has put the entire team in a tough spot.
Ryan McMahon’s start at third backfired for the Yankees almost immediately in the first inning, when the third baseman missed a routine ground ball that allowed Yandy Díaz to reach safely instead of throwing him out at first. It would be astonishing to see him leave on Wednesday evening against José Caballero or Anthony Volpe.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. also made a glaring error worth noting in Game 2, completely missing his throw to Luis García Jr., which gave Tampa Bay its first point of the night. His response to the error was even more shocking after the game, when the second baseman admitted that he would still make the throw even if his back was turned to execute it correctly. Chisholm Jr. remains hitless in this series and has yet to make an impact on either side of the ball.
Gerrit Cole struggled through five solid innings in the series opener, striking out five batters and allowing just one run. Jonathan Aranda’s long ball was the only field goal scored by both sides, and I would argue that the Yankees’ offense was much more responsible for the 1-0 loss in Game 1.
Cam Schlittler went 4.1 innings, striking out two and allowing two earned runs on 76 pitches in Game 2, and held off the Rays’ offense long enough for the Yankees infield to dash any hopes of tying the series for their return to the Bronx.
The offense is lifeless in the ALDS
Despite two electric wins scoring a total of 18 runs in the Wild Card Series, the Yankees’ offense was no match for Rays ace Drew Rasmussen, who completely dominated the Yankees with 10 strikeouts and a no-hitter in 7.2 innings in Game 1.
Spencer Jones, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger all struck out two in the ALDS opener, and the Yankees’ only hit of the night came from Austin Wells with a double in the eighth inning. He unfortunately made the poor decision to ignore manager Luis Rojas’ stop sign and attempt the triple, and was picked off at third by Rays third baseman Junior Caminero following an elite play by shortstop Taylor Walls.
Deepening the Pinstripes offense, Ben Rice was one of the only players in the lineup to show up in this series, with a game-tying home run in the fourth of Game 2 and another late home run that cut the deficit. Bellinger was one of two other Yankees who got a hit Monday night with a single after Rice’s leadoff homer, and gave fans a glimmer of hope that this offense could come to life. He also crushed one deep to center, which would have been a grand slam in 12 of 30 stadiums, but it flew into Jonny DeLuca’s glove to send the game into the bottom of the fifth.
Wells had the only other hit of the night, redemption for his misguided decision-making that was one of the reasons keeping the Yankees from advancing in Game 1.
It’s clear that the Yankees’ depleted offense and glaring errors cost them their chance to tie the series. This is not an unusual situation, as they have started several road series 2-0 over the last five years. The last team in franchise history to erase a 2-0 deficit in a Division Series was the 2017 Yankees, who beat the Guardians in five runs and then fell short in the ALCS to the Astros in seven.
Aaron Boone, after sending out an unchanged lineup for most of the playoffs thus far, has to take the heat for failing to lead this team down a different path this time. They’ve been down this grueling path before, but there’s little change from each playoff series ending in the same demoralizing fate year after year. The Yankees finished the 2025 season, notably including a healthy Aaron Judge on the roster, with one loss in four games in the ALDS and were dominated by the Blue Jays a combined 37-16.
Right now, it’s obvious that this team is completely exhausted from its offensive momentum, and it’s time to change the order as the Yankees go into survival mode.
Trailing 2-0 in the series with a return to the Bronx imminent, the Yankees have their work cut out for them to continue this postseason run.
Gn sports
