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Freddy Peralta, the Rays' trade deadline acquisition from the Mets, was a challenge for the Yankees in Monday's ALDS matchup.

The right-hander allowed one run -- designated hitter Ben Rice's fourth-inning solo home run to lead off the fourth inning -- on three hits while striking out three and walking one in 4.2 innings of Tampa Bay's pivotal Game 2.

"I thought he threw the ball incredibly well," Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Peralta, who was perfect through his first three innings. "We were all super pleased with it, and it was a tough decision. I felt like the changeup started to work just off the edge enough where he wasn't able to get it in the zone. But early on, it was dominant fastball, dominant changeup. It's tough to nitpick anybody that goes through that lineup and gives up a solo homer. Very pleased with Freddy."

Peralta exited the game with runners on first and second base in the fifth inning after catcher Austin Wells' two-out double and third baseman Ryan McMahon's walk.

Left-hander Cam Booser replaced Peralta and walked Rice, loading the bases, before left fielder Cody Bellinger's deep fly ball to center field stranded the Yankees.

"I said that I wanted to finish the fifth because I was competing out there, and I always want to keep the ball," said Peralta, who exited after throwing 43 strikes on 66 pitches. "But I just wanted to give my best since the first pitch until whenever the decision with Cash comes to take me out of the game. I just was focused on giving the best of myself, 100 percent of myself, since the first pitch until the last one."

Peralta went 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 55.1 innings over 10 starts during his regular season with the Rays. He debuted for Tampa Bay Aug. 4.

"They've done it all year, just throwing strikes," said Rays left fielder Jonny DeLuca. "All of our starters are nasty. All of our pitching staff is nasty. Being able to play behind that, it's a good tempo, good rhythm. They're pounding the zone. It doesn't look fun to face them. They've been doing it all year and it's super fun to watch."

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Ryan McMahon is one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball. The first ball hit to him in Game 2 shot up and got away, and the New York Yankees spent the rest of the night chasing it.

New York made four errors Monday, three on the first four batters, and lost 5-2 to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. The Rays lead the best-of-five AL Division Series 2-0.

The Yankees dug this hole with their own gloves and bats.  

Three of the Rays' five runs were unearned. Cam Schlittler, the presumptive AL Cy Young winner, got 13 outs, the shortest postseason start of his career, and spent most of his night pitching with runners his defense put on base.

In the quiet Yankees clubhouse after the loss, Schlittler took responsibility.

"Obviously it starts with me," Schlittler said. "I'll be the first one to say that I didn't do my job, but it didn't seem like we really showed up today."

The offense without Aaron Judge on the roster because of a strained calf isn't bailing anybody out. The Yankees have scored two runs in two games and both of them were solo home runs by Ben Rice.

McMahon's error on Yandy Díaz started the unraveling Monday night.

Jonathan Aranda singled. Junior Caminero grounded to shortstop George Lombard Jr., who backhanded a flip to second for the force, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. tried to force the double play and threw it wide of first base. Díaz scored. Then the Rays challenged a missed catcher's interference call on Austin Wells and won.

"I'd probably still throw it, honestly," Chisholm said. "The play that was trying to be made (was the right one). I feel like I could've made an even better throw."

Four batters, three errors, one run.

Aaron Boone said he didn't necessarily have a problem with Chisholm going for two.

"We've got to play catch," Boone said. "It's the big leagues."

Oops! ... They did it again. And again. And again. And again.

The New York Yankees committed four errors in their 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the American League Divisional Series. Three of the errors came in the first inning of the matchup on Monday, Oct. 5 at Tropicana Field.

The first culprit was third baseman Ryan McMahon. Yandy Díaz tapped the ball and sent it McMahon's way, but it bounced and the defender couldn't grab it, committing the first error.

Two batters later, Junior Caminero hit a dribbler for a ground out that got out Jonathan Aranda. Jazz Chisholm Jr. attempted a quick turn to first base and overthrew Luis García Jr. for the second error.

Then, Liam Hicks was up to bat. When he swung at a pitch, catcher Austin Wells stuck his mitt out too far forward. Hicks' bat grazed the top of his mitt and Wells was called for catcher interference.

Yankees committed three errors, and almost a fourth, in the first inning tonight.

It's the first time in franchise history committing three errors in one inning of a postseason game. pic.twitter.com/jydGJrDBjP

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) October 6, 2026

And that's not all!

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Jonny DeLuca made contact and sent the ball into left field, where George Lombard Jr. scooped it up. The rookie threw the ball toward first base and it was his turn to overthrow García Jr. It was the fourth error of the game.

There was nearly another error earlier in the inning involving Lombard Jr., but it was ruled a fielder's choice.

George Lombard Jr. is the fourth Yankee to make an error tonight pic.twitter.com/jW6tkbN0i9

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 6, 2026

Ben Rice scored both of the Yankees' runs with two solo home runs. He hit one each in the fourth and eighth innings.

New York is now down 2-0 in the series and is on the brink of playoff elimination.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: See all 4 Yankees errors from Game 2 ALDS loss to Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aaron Boone kept the lineup intact from Game 1 — most notably keeping a struggling Ryan McMahon at third base — in part because he wanted “to prioritize the defense,” the Yankees manager said a couple of hours before Monday’s first pitch. 

It took two pitches from Cam Schlittler for that decision to backfire. 

McMahon made the first error, a drip that became a flood, in an embarrassing 5-2 loss in Game 2 to the Rays in which the Yankees defense was charged with four errors and probably should have been charged with more. 

“Not great. Not how you draw it up,” McMahon said of a first inning in which he booted a ball, Jazz Chisholm Jr. made an unwise decision to throw to first (which bounced past Luis García Jr.) after recording an out at second and Austin Wells was called for catcher’s interference, which added up to the first unearned run. 

The problems started on the second pitch Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Díaz saw, chopping a grounder toward McMahon. The normally sure-handed veteran, perhaps misjudging the springs on the Tropicana Field turf or an infield dirt that played fast, simply missed on his backhand attempt. 

“Just kicked up on me a little bit,” said McMahon, who watched the ball skitter past him and then raised his palms wondering what had just happened. 

McMahon did not make a second mistake in the field, but he also did not atone at the plate. He popped out in the third inning, managed a walk (that did not lead to a run) in the fifth and then was subbed out for pinch hitter Paul Goldschmidt in the eighth. 

In four postseason games, McMahon is 1-for-7 — the lone hit an infield single — with two walks and played despite entering the night 1-for-14 with three walks in his career against Tampa Bay starter Freddy Peralta. 

Asked about sticking with McMahon, Boone indicated that he considered starting Anthony Volpe at third base, but he didn’t want his second career start at the spot to be on the bouncy turf in a playoff game. Boone also insisted José Caballero was “very much in play” — and has been every day of the playoffs, he said — “but I just like his versatility and presence off the bench, too.” 

Caballero, a spark plug who had appeared in only one game this postseason before Monday (as a defensive replacement in Game 2 of the wild-card series), played the role of good soldier. 

“Everyone wants to be in there, but that’s why we have a manager and he’s the one making decisions,” Caballero said before entering as a defensive replacement at third base. “Just waiting on my time and trying to stay active and prepare for the moment that I get the call and try to help the team.” 

The Rays plan to start righty Nick Martinez in Game 3, which normally would mean the lefty-hitting McMahon would get the nod. 

Boone has another decision to make. 

“Frustration. Maybe a little bit of anger in there,” McMahon said about the mood of the team. “But … the series isn’t over yet.”

The Yankees' backs are against the wall after Monday's 5-2 ALDS Game 2 loss at the Tampa Bay Rays.

"We didn't get it done," said left fielder Cody Bellinger, whose bases-loaded flyout to deep center field ended the fifth inning and kept the game tied at 1-1. "We had opportunities."

New York committed four errors while ace right-hander Cam Schlittler did not have his best stuff.

"These guys work their asses off all year to get to a position like today," said Schlittler, who allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out two and walking one in 4.1 innings pitched. "We expect a lot out of each other. It's been great all year, but we just didn't play our brand of baseball and I know we can play better baseball than that and that starts with me on the mound. We've got to flush it and get ready for Wednesday."

The best-of-five series heads to Yankee Stadium for Wednesday's 8 p.m. Game 3 with left-hander Max Fried set as the Yankees' starting pitcher.

"An opportunity to do something great," said New York manager Aaron Boone. "But it starts one play, one inning at a time. We can't play like that and expect to win, so we've got to come out Wednesday night -- everything's on the line, it's obviously all hands on deck and we've got to try and get one and then go from there.

"We're capable of doing it. This team has been really good at picking themselves up all year. We've faced some really tough moments. Talked about them having a lot of grit -- they've had that all year. We need to find it right now."

Third baseman Ryan McMahon echoed Boone's message as the Yankees exit Tropicana Field in an 0-2 hole.

"It hasn't been won yet," McMahon said. "We'll see that. We'll regroup, respect the loss. Everybody here is a little pissed off, a little upset, but we're where we're at and there's still some games left."

A team has not come back from down 0-2 and won a best-of-five series since the Yankees in the 2017 ALDS when they lost their first two games at the Cleveland Guardians but won the next three to reach the ALCS.

"Definitely going to be a challenge," said designated hitter Ben Rice, whose two solo home runs Monday were New York's only source of offense. "Going down 2-0 doesn't feel good. It's on us to find our way out of it."

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There might not be a more confident pitcher than Cam Schlittler, who does not doubt himself and did not doubt himself before Game 2. 

Sure, he knew that he was about to face a lineup that excels at placing bat on ball. But he also knew he was tied for the third-most strikeouts in the majors this season. 

“I feel like if I need to get one,” he said Saturday, “I’m going to be able to do that.” 

Schlittler’s prediction was off the mark because Tampa Bay’s bats were constantly on the mark. 

The Yankees ace of aces was not to blame for Monday’s 5-2 loss to the Rays in the division series at Tropicana Field, but he also was not able to play hero as he had in Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Red Sox. 

“All I can do is assess my outing and realize that it needs to be better than that,” said Schlittler, who blamed himself after a night he needed the help of his defense, which let him down repeatedly. 

After dominating Boston through 6 ¹/₃ scoreless, 10-strikeout innings, Schlittler only punched out two Rays while allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk in 4 ¹/₃ innings. 

It started immediately, with the aggressive Rays swinging early in counts and making consistent, often loud contact in the first inning. Errors by Ryan McMahon (on a chopper) and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (an ill-advised throw to first after recording an out at second) scored one run, but Schlittler did well to limit the damage. 

The game changed, though, in a four-run fifth inning during which the flame-throwing righty needed to throw pitches by Rays bats and could not. 

A single by Jonathan Aranda (played conservatively by Spencer Jones, who might have had a chance at a diving catch) and a double from Junior Caminero put runners on second and third without an out in a game that was then tied 1-1. 

Schlittler needed one of those strikeouts. Unlike the Rays, he whiffed. 

Liam Hicks managed to make contact — the softest imaginable, a tapper that traveled 5 feet in the air — but the slow roller to Chisholm was good enough to score the go-ahead run. 

Next it was Chandler Simpson who fell behind 1-2 but kept fighting, eventually grazing a 3-2 sinker for a swinging bunt that went 4 feet in the air toward George Lombard Jr. The rookie shortstop had a play at the plate and knew it, his eyes toward Austin Wells instead of the ball as he booted it on a backhand attempt to let in another run. 

“That’s what they do,” Schlittler said of the Rays. “I let up runs like that in April against them — just choppers in the infield — but that’s what they do. They put pressure on you, and they find a way to get those runs across.” 

Schlittler said he “just didn’t have my stuff today,” his velocity up a tick from the regular season but down from his Red Sox start. 

More notably, he did not have any help. Appropriately enough, Brent Headrick entered in the fifth and allowed two inherited runners to score.

Both the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres continue to troll one another.

While the Brewers were practicing on the field at Petco Park on Monday, the stadium had the cool, calm sound of elevator music blasting from the speakers.

Back Milwaukee, when the Padres were taking batting practice on Saturday, American Family Field was blasting “monotonous” music off the speakers.

San Diego did their best to attempt to drown out the music, as they had a Bluetooth speaker playing music next to their batting cage.

But for the Padres, the attempt to drown out the sound didn’t work as they found themselves down 2-0 in the NLDS.

In both games, the Padres lost in heartbreaking fashion.

On Saturday, San Diego blew a 2-2 lead in the seventh inning from a solo Wilson Contreras home run.

In the ninth inning of that game, Ty France thought he had a go-ahead two-run homer, until the ball bounced off the roof of the stadium and landed in Dustin Harris’ glove.

On Sunday, superstar closing pitcher Mason Miller took the mound with a 3-2 lead in the eighth, in an attempt to make a two-inning save.

Miller would give up two walks in the ninth, and then gave up a go-ahead two-run single to Jackson Chourio, resulting in the Padres falling 4-3.

After the game was over, speculation arose that Miller was tipping his pitches. On Monday, his manager, Craig Stammen, denied any possibility of his closer being predictable.

Game 3 of the NLDS is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. PT when Nick Pivetta faces off against Dustin May.

I went to game two of the ALDS today by myself.

I am a Guardians Season Ticket Holder, but in my 10-12 games a year, I always take 1-2 of our kids (ages 7, 6, almost 4, and 2). So, today was different. I got a scorecard because keeping score controls my emotions and competitive anxiety. I sat down and started talking to the older gentleman on my left who tolerated my various insights into the game very kindly.

On my right, I allowed a White Sox fan to sit in my assigned seat so he could sit next to his friends. White Sox fan person (a “boss” of some sort) was not profane or abusive. But, he very clearly had only started paying attention the past two weeks, at most. Yet, there he was, standing and screaming in joy as the team I live and die with daily failed to secure a crucial victory. His joy did not appear to be any less than mine would have been despite my significantly superior emotional investment. So… why am I bothering?

At some level, it has to be that I get joy from this. Seeing Anthony Kay spike a throw and allow two runs was joyous. 11 strikeouts from Gavin Williams was a thrill of hope for a weary world to rejoice in. Jo Adell gave me an electric moment where I thought he had deposited one in the bleachers. I do truly revel in the feelings these events produce.

But, at another level, it’s a longing to be part of something bigger and to succeed. Is Cleveland going to be a good place for me and my family to live? That’s a group project. Are we going to survive the threats of A.I., climate change, resurgent fascism, persistent totalitarianism, biological warfare and the billionaire oligarchs that profit from it all as a society? That’s a group project. I’m rooting for us. Watching my baseball team win gives me just a little glimmer of hope that winning the actual important games is possible. It makes me a believe a collection of wildly diverse people with their own special talents and roles can do impossible things when the Guardians beat the Angels on a Wednesday night.

But, the Guardians did not win tonight. The baseball Sabrowski threw to a hitter with a 19 wRC+ vs LHP caught an inch too much of the plate and landed just 36 inches fair. The ball Kwan hit to left field was almost misplayed by Antonacci and landed just inches within his glove. The ball that seemingly hit Jose was just half an inch from being obviously a hit and resulting in two runs when Adell hit his smash… glorious victory just inches away… leaving me with crushing defeat.

When I got home, our three-year old, Zalee, asked me if the Guardians won. I said, “No, but Onion won the hot dog race!” And she squealed in delight. Her primary interest in the game is if Onion wins the hot dog race. When we go to games, she is as disappointed if Onion loses as I am if the Guardians Lose.

In the big scheme of things, is my joy really that much more significant than hers? Is my disappointment more crushing? If I had to guess, I’d assume the opposite is true. Seeing her felt-covered hero of condiment fame triumph is a more significant epochal milestone for her than a World Series title would be in my 43 years on this globe.

But, I suppose I will be successful in teaching her to love this wonderful, awful, joyous, soul-crushing sport like I do (if the aformentioned billionaires let us watch it again next season, of course). Someday, Zalee will cheer, cry, thrill, deflate, and scream like I do. And, the reason that’s ok is that it will be something that reminds her and me that we are in this thing together. That we don’t win without the other feeling joy and pride, and we don’t lose without the other feeling pain and humiliation. And, that’s life. And that’s humanity.

The Guardians didn’t win today. But, Onion did. She swung her purse at the last second and broke the finish line by inches before Ketchup. So, rejoice, Zalee. It’s a good night, after all.

I hate Tropicana Field. I know many of you do too. If you are not a Yankees fan and are doing what I am also guilty of doing—reading the reactions of salty fans after playoff losses—grab your popcorn. This is the good stuff you’re probably looking for.

It blows my mind that baseball games in 2026 are played at places like this. It honestly blows my mind even more that this place was destroyed by an act of God two years ago, was rebuilt despite plans to replace it in the near future, and is being used for big playoff games. The roof is baseball-colored; there is statistical proof that teams other than the Rays struggle defensively here due to a lack of experience; the turf leads to weird hops that cause more errors to be committed against the Rays than any other team in baseball. It’s the strangest home-field advantage in baseball, and one that the Rays ran roughshod over to take advantage of a Yankees team that was just not focused from the jump tonight—and one that, to be clear, absolutely deserved this atrocious loss, even if it was played in the baseball version of Elysian Fields.

Alright, enough of my anger-filled soapbox. The Yankees set the tone for this one with three brutal first-inning errors, played shoddy defense the rest of the night, and just got Rays’d. Any opportunity they had to use their speed or slap hitting, they used it. The Yankees were not prepared. Aside from two home runs from Ben Rice and an oh-so-close deep flyout from Cody Bellinger with the bases juiced, the offense was dead again in a 5-2 loss that puts the season on the brink.

When you get no-hit for nearly eight innings the game before, you desperately want to get the monkey off your back early the next night. The quality of contact was good in that first inning against Freddy Peralta, with a Ben Rice warning-track flyout and a scorched lineout from Cody Bellinger, but the Yankees went quietly in the first before the utter chaos of the bottom half.

On just Cam Schlittler’s second pitch of the game, Yandy Diaz hit a soft Trop chopper to Ryan McMahon, which he promptly booted after misreading the hop. Jonathan Aranda then lined a single up the middle for the one real hit in the inning. Needing a double play, Schlittler got Junior Caminero to spike a ball into the turf that was snared by George Lombard Jr. for a brilliant flip for a forceout. Unfortunately, Jazz Chisholm Jr. decided to throw the ball into the dugout with no chance to turn two, giving the Rays the early lead.

The defensive inning from hell continued when a three-pitch strikeout from Liam Hicks was overturned into a catcher’s interference. Awarding a batter a base for a check-swing catcher’s interference is dumb, and I will forever believe that. The speedy Chandler Simpson ripped a ball to second for what looked like a tailor-made double play, but an awful throw from Chisholm pulled Lombard off the bag. The rookie shortstop somehow managed to tap the bag after to avoid a fourth error in the inning, and Cam survived the inning from hell with only one run allowed.

We got more Trop shenanigans when Spencer Jones hit a ball a mile high off the C-ring in center field, which was caught by Victor Mesa Jr. Objectively, almost every other team drops that ball because of their lack of experience reading fly balls here, but the Rays caught it, naturally. Two more quick outs had Peralta rolling through two.

Jonny DeLuca golfed an 0-2 curveball in the dirt for a leadoff double in the second, but was stranded on a trio of groundouts surrounding a two-out walk. The bottom of the order went down quietly as well, giving Peralta a perfect game through three innings just one night after Rasmussen’s brilliance. At this point, I’m not sure the vibes could get much worse.

Schlittler continued to grind through the third, allowing singles to Caminero and Simpson, but got out of a jam after a 108.5 mph scorched grounder from DeLuca was fielded cleanly by Lombard to end the threat. Just one batter later, with the Yankees entering their 13th inning of the series with just one hit, Rice allowed everyone on the team and in the fanbase to breathe for a second, smashing a leadoff home run in the fourth to tie the game at one.

Bellinger followed with a single, but was stranded by the next three hitters. Schlittler responded to the desperate gasp for a shutdown inning, retiring the Rays in order with help from a surprisingly solid play by Trent Grisham in center field. Peralta seemed to be cruising again after retiring the first two in the fifth, but things got interesting after a bullet double by Austin Wells and a gritty walk by Ryan McMahon. The ever-aggressive Kevin Cash pulled him for Cam Booser, betting on his lefty specialist to neutralize the best hitters on the team.

He walked Rice on five pitches to bring up Bellinger with the bases loaded. This was the moment. This was where the Yankees could show who they were. For a brief second, it seemed like they would. The All-Star left fielder absolutely pummeled a bad 0-2 fastball to deep center field. 102.9 mph, 405 feet. In 12 ballparks, it’s a grand slam. In some others, it’s off the wall. Unfortunately, as has happened all too many times in the postseason in the Judge era, the big hit fell just a few inches short, landing harmlessly in the glove of DeLuca.

It’s the type of gut punch that takes the air out of a fan, and maybe it took the air out of the team. It’s not how baseball works, but maybe it is. Schlittler allowed a bullet single (that Jones maybe should’ve caught?) and a bullet double from Caminero to set up second and third with nobody out. Usually, a team’s cleanup and five-hole hitters wouldn’t be conducive to 55 and 65 mph choppers that bounce two feet in front of home plate in RBI opportunities, but these are the Rays. Both runs scored on back-to-back Baltimore chops that the Yankees had no chance of getting an out at the plate on, even if Lombard had defended the latter cleanly. That gave the Rays a 3-1 lead.

The frustration didn’t end there. After Brent Headrick entered and struck out Mesa, we got another Trop chop grounder to Lombard. Due to the bounce the ball took and the speed of DeLuca, he had to rush the throw, which forced a long stretch from Luis García Jr. If the play was made cleanly, DeLuca would’ve been out by an eyelash, which tells you how perfect they had to be, but García couldn’t squeeze the throw, and everyone was safe. Another error. One batter later, Richie Palacios hit a two-run single to effectively ice this one, making it 5-1 Rays.

We then hit a weird point in the game. Ian Seymour came in for the Rays as a lefty bulk reliever, but Aaron Boone elected to keep his righties in the dugout. As a fan who was resigned to the outcome after the Palacios single, it seems like nothing, but damn, that’s pretty rough of your manager to be so apathetic in this spot. The lineup had no pulse against him in some rough matchups.

Playing out the string, John Schreiber tossed a scoreless sixth, Ryan Weathers and Paul Blackburn combined for the seventh, and Blackburn and David Bednar combined for the ninth. For the offense, all they had left was another home run for Rice, who continues to have a postseason to remember while his teammates give him no help, like 2018 LeBron.

Bryan Baker got the save in the ninth, 1-2-3, to solidify Game 2 for the Rays. If the Yankees want to win this series and get to the ALCS, they must win three straight against a team they’ve struggled against all year and win a game at Tropicana Field on Saturday after going 2-7 there to start this season, Bleak, I know.

There will be baseball played on Wednesday. After that, it’s up to the Yankees to decide. Game 3 will be at Yankee Stadium at 8 pm EDT. It’s Max Fried (pending the birth of his child) against a pitcher to be determined, but it will likely be Nick Martinez.

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