The Yankees are on the verge of playoff elimination. Talk will be of their errors through two games, but their bats have gone cold.
The New York Yankees are facing elimination after dropping Game 2 of the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays.
And while drops are part of the story, they do not tell the complete tale of woe.
New York’s defense was not exactly fodder for Tom Emanski’s defensive drills video series on Monday night, as the Yankees made three errors in the first inning alone, were charged with four by the time the night ended, could have been given a fifth on a play that was initially ruled an error, and made a few other defensive miscues that were not charged as official errors by the scorekeeper due to scoring rules.
But on the brink of elimination, the bats are a bigger concern.
Let’s start with those errors, beginning in the bottom of the first inning. Tampa Bay leadoff hitter Yandy Díaz hit a chopper to third that ate up third baseman Ryan McMahon, gifting the Rays a leadoff runner:
Jonathan Aranda then singled off Cam Schlittler, giving Tampa Bay a pair of runners to start the inning.
Junior Caminero hit a grounder up the middle that George Lombard Jr. grabbed and flipped to Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second to force out Aranda, but Chisholm then made a twisting, off-balance throw to first that found the dugout fencing, bringing Díaz around to score:
Schlittler then retired Liam hicks looking for the second out of the inning, giving the Yankees a chance to limit the damage.
Or so they thought.
After a replay review, it was confirmed that when Hicks started his swing it clipped catcher Austin Wells’ mitt. Catcher’s interference was the ruling, giving the Yankees three errors in the first four Rays hitters:
Schlittler managed to get out of the inning with just the one run, but even that was something of a defensive adventure. After Hicks was awarded first base on the Wells interference, Schlittler induced a tailor-made grounder to Chisholm that could have ended the inning. But the second baseman’s throw pulled Lombard off the bag, and the Yankees were forced to settle for just the out at second after a tremendous recovery from the shortstop:
The fourth New York error came in the bottom of the fifth, with Tampa Bay leading 3-1. Aaron Boone had pulled Schlittler at this point, after this play that was initially ruled an error on Lombard, before it was changed to a fielder’s choice:
The error-turned-fielder’s choice brought Caminero home, giving Tampa Bay the 3-1 lead. Boone then pulled Schlittler, opting for lefty Brent Headrick out of the bullpen. Headrick struck out outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. for the second out, giving New York a chance to get out of the inning and limit the damage.
After Chandler Simpson stole second, Jonny DeLuca rolled a grounder to Lombard, who had a chance to finally end the inning.
But the throw was off the mark:
DeLuca then stole second, and both he and Simpson scored on a single to center off the bat of No. 8 hitter Richie Palacios to make it 5-1.
Final score: Rays 5, Yankees 2.
The errors and miscues are the easy story, and headlines are filled with phrases such as “error-filled,” “error-fueled meltdown,” and worse. But on a night where the Yankees were charged with four errors, and could have been charged with more, they only gave up five runs.
And this is a team coming off a win in the Wild Card Series over the Boston Red Sox that scored nine runs in back-to-back games, sweeping the Red Sox by a combined score of 18-2. Five runs was not a tough ask for this New York lineup.
Yet, it was a tough ask on Monday night.
Designated hitter Ben Rice did what he could, as he belted a pair of solo homers to account for both of New York’s runs Monday night, finishing the game having gone 2-for-3. But beyond Rice, the rest of the New York lineup combined to go 2-for-28 from the plate, with just a double off the bat of Wells in the second inning, and single form Cody Bellinger in the fourth, after Rice’s first home run of the night.
Making matters worse, the Yankees were a dismal 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position on Monday night. That came in the top of the fifth, when the combination of starter Freddy Peralta and reliever Cam Booser managed to load the bases ahead of Bellinger, who came to the plate with two outs in a 1-1 game. A hit in that spot could have changed the course of the night.
He gave it a ride to the deepest part of the track, but DeLuca tracked it down on the warning track to end the threat:
This is a New York lineup that was among the league leaders in several offensive categories, including Slugging Percentage (.409 — sixth in MLB) and home runs (223 — second in MLB), and while the lineup does miss Aaron Judge who remains sidelined due to a right calf strain, that same lineup put up big numbers against Boston just a few days ago. This is a lineup that on many nights is good enough to overcome the defensive breakdowns, and score more than five runs.
But not right now.
Instead the Yankees are facing elimination having scored just two runs, both off the bat of Rice, in two games in Tampa Bay. Back in Game 1, New York did not record a hit until the eighth inning, a double off the bat of Wells, and the lineup combined to finish 1-for-27 on the night.
Making the Yankees a combined 5-for-58 — a batting average of just .086 — over two games against the Rays.
The errors are the easy headlines after Monday night.
But the struggles at the plate are the bigger concern.