Relentless Rays give Schlittler fits in 4-run 5th, move 1 win from ALCS

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays knew they were in for a challenge against American League Cy Young Award favorite Cam Schlittler on Monday night at Tropicana Field. The Yankees’ ace has shown in a short time that he’s made for big moments, especially in unfriendly environments, and he was as tough to hit as just about any pitcher in baseball.

So, what was Tampa Bay’s plan heading into Game 2 of the American League Division Series?

“Just kind of do what we’ve been doing all year,” shortstop Taylor Walls said.

What better way to describe the decisive fifth inning in the Rays’ 5-2 win over the Yankees before another sold-out crowd of 40,226?

The Rays’ tiebreaking four-run rally began with big hits from two-thirds of their “Big Three,” then the bottom half of the lineup put pressure on the sloppy Yankees defense with a series of balls in play.

By the time it was over, Schlittler was out of the game, the Rays had pulled ahead by a comfortable margin, and manager Kevin Cash was counting outs -- most of them from lefty Ian Seymour -- to get to Game 3 at Yankee Stadium with a 2-0 series lead.

In all best-of-five postseason series, teams with a 2-0 lead have gone on to win the series 83 of 93 times (89%). Teams that have won the first two games at home in Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format have gone on to win the series 33 of 36 times (92%). The last time a team rallied from an 0-2 hole in a best-of-five series came in the 2017 ALDS, with the Yankees advancing after dropping the first two games at Cleveland.

The Rays struck first by capitalizing on a week’s worth of defensive gaffes behind Schlittler in the first inning. Yandy Díaz reached on an error by third baseman Ryan McMahon, advanced to second on a single by Jonathan Aranda then scored when the Yankees threw away an attempt to get two outs on a grounder by Junior Caminero.

But that inning still felt like a missed opportunity, because the Rays managed just one run despite three errors and another misplay on a Chandler Simpson grounder. And it threatened to loom large when Ben Rice blasted a game-tying homer off Freddy Peralta in the fourth inning, the Yankees’ first hit of the night.

But in the fifth inning, the Rays got back to doing what they’ve been doing all year.

Tampa Bay struck out less than any other team in the Majors this season. The club paired power at the top of the order with a relentless, contact-oriented approach throughout the lineup. That showed up early, when Schlittler couldn’t pick up a strikeout in the first two innings for only the third time in his young career.

And the Rays’ refusal to strike out played a huge part in the fifth. Aranda led off the inning with a single, then Caminero crushed a 112.4 mph double to right-center to put two runners in scoring position.

Up came Liam Hicks, the contact-hitting catcher who has fit in seamlessly since joining the Rays at the Trade Deadline. Hicks slapped a grounder to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who took the out at first rather than trying to cut down Aranda at the plate.

That brought up Simpson, the toughest player to strike out in a lineup built on that concept, with a runner on third. Simpson swatted a grounder to the left of the mound that shortstop George Lombard Jr. couldn’t handle and raised his right fist as he ran to first base, having given Tampa Bay a two-run lead.

That was it for Schlittler, whose two strikeouts on the night were the fewest of the year and tied for the fewest in any game in his career, but the Rays weren’t done. Simpson stole second, and Jonny DeLuca reached on another error by Lombard.

Still in need of a big, game-breaking hit, the Rays got one from Richie Palacios. On the eighth pitch from lefty Brent Headrick, Palacios ripped a two-run single up the middle.