Rays do what they do well, lead Yankees 2-0 in AL Division Series

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Oct 5, 2026

Published in Baseball

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TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays needed some help Monday against New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler, the clear American League Cy Young Award favorite, in Game 2 of the AL Division Series.

And they got some, most notably the Yankees making a postseason-record-tying three errors in the first inning.

But the Rays only got one run out of New York’s early defensive deficiencies. And when the Yankees tied the game in the fourth on a Ben Rice homer, then threatened in the fifth while chasing Tampa Bay starter Freddy Peralta, it looked like the Rays may have blown their chance.

But here’s a thing about the Rays throughout this AL-leading season — give them a chance, and they often will find a way to beat you.

And Monday night they did just that, combining three hits, a few ground balls in play and their usual aggressive chaos-causing baserunning for a four-run fifth inning and a 5-2 win before a second straight Tropicana Field sellout crowd announced at 40,226.

Now they only have to beat the Yankees one more time in three games — albeit with the next two slated for New York — to play for the American League pennant.

Teams that take a 2-0 lead in best-of-five postseason series, per mlb.com, go on to win 89.2% of the time (83 of 93), and teams that do so at home win 91.7% of the series under the current 2-2-1 format (33 of 36).

The Rays started the fifth with the second single of the night by Jonathan Aranda, who came into the game 1 for 8 against Schlittler with six strikeouts. A double by Junior Caminero set them up to score.

Liam Hicks bounced a 55.1 mph ball to second, and with Aranda breaking on contact, New York’s Jazz Chisholm Jr. could only get the out at first.

Chandler Simpson then did what he does so well, slapping a 64.8 mph ball to the left side with his speed forcing the defense into another mistake. Shortstop George Lombard Jr. couldn’t make the play and Caminero, also moving on contact, raced home to make it 3-1.

The Yankees pulled Schlittler, who got serenaded again after what one veteran New York writer called “A-Rod-level booing” during pregame introductions.

With one out, Jonny DeLuca reached on the Yankees’ fourth error, an off-target throw by Lombard. Then Richie Palacios, a native New Yorker, delivered the Rays’ first actual hit with a runner in scoring position (they’d been 0 for 10 to that point) to expand the lead to 5-1.

Though Peralta didn’t get through the fifth, he did enough to give the Rays a chance to win. Cam Booser walked Ben Rice, who had homered earlier, but got out Cody Bellinger on a deep fly to center, to leave the bases loaded.

And then lefty Ian Seymour, who had the best numbers of any Rays pitcher against the Yankees with no specific role, played a huge one, getting nine outs, while allowing an eighth-inning homer to Rice. Closer Bryan Baker finished.

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