After his team only conjured up a single hit in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone put out the exact same lineup for Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
It only took one at-bat to prove that Boone made a mistake.
The Yankees’ infielders put on a tragic display as they committed four errors to gift the Rays run after run to put their season on the brink.
With the 5-2 victory, the Rays have now taken a commanding 2-0 series lead and can win the series with a good result in The Bronx on Wednesday evening.
Slugger Ben Rice proved to be the only offensive engine for the Yankees as he smacked two solo home runs on the night.
But six other Yankees were left hitless – which may force Boone to change his strategy for the pivotal third game.
Aaron Boone and the Yankees are on the brink of elimination after a 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay
New York second baseman Jazz Chisholm was one of four Yankees to commit an error
Richie Palacios knocked through a two-run single to put the game out of reach for New York
He should have done so anyway. After providing next-to-zero offense in Game 1 thanks to multiple mental errors on the base path, this time, the Yankees committed mental mistakes on defense.
In the first Rays at-bat of the game, third baseman Ryan McMahon committed a fielding error as he couldn’t handle a grounder by Yander Diaz. The inexcusable mistake saw the ball bounce off his glove and over his head.
Not to be outdone, Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm took what should have been a simple bang-bang double play and squandered it as his off-kilter throw to first was two feet to the right of Luis Garcia – allowing Diaz to come home for the first run of the game.
A third error of the first inning arrived thanks to catcher Austin Wells, who was called for catcher’s interference when his glove got into the swing path of Liam Hicks. Thankfully for the Yankees, no further damage was done.
Rice would tie the game at 1-1 with his first home run in the top of the fourth inning, sending a blast down the right field line to give New York a brief hope.
Yankees starter Cam Schlittler, the front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award, finished his evening in the fifth inning after giving up six hits and only striking out two.
In that inning, the fielders behind him let him down once again.
With runners on second and third and no outs, the Yankees infield pushed in to try to prevent a run coming home. Well, that is, every Yankees infielder except for Chisholm – who stood a good seven feet off the infield grass.
Cam Schlittler, the Yankees’ best pitcher, surrendered four runs on six hits on Monday
Two solo home runs for Ben Rice were nothing more than window dressing for the Yankees
Hicks hit a slow-rolling grounder in Chisholm’s direction. If Chisholm hadn’t been so far away from the grass, he would have at worst gotten a throw out to first while base runner Jonathan Aranda would stay at third. Instead, Aranda took off to give Chisholm no hope of a play at the plate, surrendering a second run.
The next at-bat, Chandler Simpson hit a ground ball toward Yankees rookie shortstop George Lombard that bounced off his glove to score Junior Caminero to make it a 3-1 game. Official scorers initially ruled it a hit, then changed it to an error, only to then change it back to a fielder’s choice.
Lombard would commit another mistake when his routine throw to first pulled Garcia off the bag to bring Jonny DeLuca aboard.
DeLuca would steal second, putting him 90 feet away from Simpson. Both were in perfect position to score when Richie Palacios knocked a ball into the outfield to make it a 5-1 game.
Rice’s second home run in the eighth inning was nothing more than window dressing as Tampa Bay surrendered just four hits on the night.
‘Obviously a really rough night, to say the least, from us,’ Boone said. ‘We gotta get over it.’
‘We gotta get over it and we’re playing for our lives on Tuesday night.’
It seems the mental errors on the field transitioned to the manager. The Yankees don’t play on Tuesday. They play Wednesday.
