Yankees give up late advantage but escape with minimal damage in defeat to Rays

Yankees Lose Close Game to Rays

The overall situation for the Yankees could have been worse.

In this particular game, things took a turn. The Yankees, after leading by one run, fell behind when the Rays capitalized on an error by Anthony Volpe, leading to a 3-2 loss in front of 44,051 fans in the Bronx on Saturday.

The Yankees (19-14) squandered a home run from Aaron Judge, now with 11 this season, as well as one from Austin Wells. Ryan Yarborough provided a solid start, but despite giving up only six hits, the Yankees struggled—especially during a wild eighth inning that brought mounting concern.

The Yankees started the eighth with a 2-1 lead, but Christopher Morell’s singled to a spot Volpe missed while attempting a dive. It looked like Volpe might have injured his left shoulder, prompting the trainer to come out and check on him.

Minutes later, Volpe was back on his feet, seemingly insisting he was fine to continue. While the team might have breathed a sigh of relief, their focus shifted to more pressing concerns related to the game.

Mark Reiter Jr. then walked Brandon Lowe, placing two Rays players in scoring position. Curtis Mead tied the game with a single to left field.

Jose Caballero sent a ground ball to center, and although it could have resulted in a double play, Volpe had trouble handling the ball and couldn’t make the out at second base.

Finishing with just five hits against Zack Littell and the Rays bullpen, the Yankees tried to rally in the bottom of the eighth, bringing Judge up with two on base. Unfortunately, Edwin Uceta was able to shut them down, and Judge couldn’t come through this time.

With Clark Schmidt out due to side pain—something the team thinks isn’t too serious—Yarborough, Ian Hamilton, Fernando Cruz, and Tim Hill combined for a strong game on the mound, despite challenges.

The Yankees’ offensive issues were evident, as they only managed to score on two swings.

Judge opened the game with a homer on the first pitch, sending it into the right field seats. Just the day before, he had a solid single to left, and he’s now hitting .432 with a .520 on-base percentage.