Cam Schlittler took responsibility after the New York Yankees fell 5-2 to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Monday night. The loss left New York down 2-0 in the best-of-five series and one defeat from elimination.
The Yankees struggled defensively from the opening inning, committing four errors and allowing Tampa Bay to create extra opportunities. Schlittler was pulled in the fifth inning after allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
Despite the mistakes behind him, Schlittler did not point the finger at his teammates after the loss. Instead, the 25-year-old right-hander put the result on himself.
“I’m not disappointed in our defense. I’m not disappointed in the offense. Really just disappointed in myself,” Schlittler said, according to SNY Yankees. “That’s baseball and those things are gonna happen. But I’ve got to be able to work through those. I wasn’t able to do that today.”
The outing was a sharp contrast to Schlittler’s first postseason appearance this year. He shut out the Boston Red Sox for 6 1/3 innings while striking out 10 in the Yankees’ 9-0 Wild Card Series win, continuing a regular season in which he went 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts.
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Tampa Bay’s contact-heavy approach eventually wore down Schlittler. The Rays put together a four-run fifth inning, with Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero reaching before Chandler Simpson’s grounder and a throwing error extended the inning. Richie Palacios then delivered a two-run single to give Tampa Bay a 5-1 lead.
Ben Rice provided the Yankees’ only offense with two solo home runs. Rice now has four home runs and eight RBIs through four postseason games after finishing the regular season with 41 homers and 97 RBIs.
The Rays entered October with a 98-64 record, winning the AL East ahead of the Yankees, who finished 93-68. Tampa Bay has now won the first two games of the series and holds a 2-0 lead heading back to New York.
The Yankees must win three straight games to advance, beginning with Game 3 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. New York will need a cleaner defensive performance and more support for its pitching staff if it is going to extend the season.
