NEW YORK \u2013 Max Fried’s words were as sharp as the break on some of his pitches.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s important to have a little bit of pride and to be able to say: `That\u2019s not us and we\u2019re going to prove it,\u2019” the New York Yankees pitcher said.<\/p>\n
After making four errors<\/a> in a dismal Game 2 defeat<\/a>, New York’s players and staff arrived home about 5 a.m. Tuesday in a 2-0 AL Division Series deficit for the second straight year, this time against the Tampa Bay Rays. The best-of-five matchup resumes Wednesday night in the Bronx with Fried starting for the Yankees and Nick Martinez for the Rays.<\/p>\n With one more loss to Tampa Bay, the World Series title drought for Major League Baseball’s winningest team would extend to a 17th season \u2014 matching the most since Babe Ruth led New York to its first championship in 1923. New York hasn’t advanced past a higher-seeded team in a postseason series since 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cThis group has done a really good job all year of bouncing back through a tough game, through some tough moments in the season and handled it all very well. So that\u2019s my expectation this time. It has to be,\u201d said manager Aaron Boone, who spoke with players individually rather than give a rah-rah speech.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay could party at Yankee Stadium for the second time in two weeks, after clinching the AL East on Sept 22<\/a>.<\/p>\n Seeking their first World Series title, the Rays are nearing an American League Championship Series against the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland. They haven’t advanced that far since 2020, when they lost in the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a>. <\/p>\n Martinez used to sit in the Yankee Stadium bleachers when he played college ball from 2009-11 at Fordham University, located about 5 miles away.<\/p>\n \u201cI imagine it\u2019s going to be an electric crowd with their season on the line,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Teams taking 2-0 leads in best-of-five postseason series have won 83 of 93 times, according to MLB. The last comeback from an 0-2 deficit was the 2017 Yankees against Cleveland<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s no taking games off,\u201d Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. \u201cObviously taking the first two has put us in a really good spot, but it\u2019s still the same mindset going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Errors in postseason becoming new Yankees tradition<\/p>\n Third baseman Ryan McMahon, second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., shortstop George Lombard Jr. and catcher Austin Wells all made errors in Game 3 that led to three unearned runs in New York’s 5-2 loss.<\/p>\n In addition, Lombard didn’t field Chandler Simpson’s two-hopper and right fielder Spencer Jones allowed Jonathan Aranda’s liner \u2014 a ball with 65% hit probability \u2014 to fall starting the fifth, which sparked a four-run inning.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just one of those things that it all kind of happened back-to-back-to back,\u201d Lombard said.<\/p>\n Throwing errors by McMahon and Chisholm in the first along with a catcher’s interference call against Wells gave the Yankees their first three-error postseason inning.<\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t seem like we really showed up today,\u201d pitcher Cam Schlittler said.<\/p>\n Two years ago, the Yankees had two errors and a mental lapse that led to five unearned runs in a season-ending Game 5 World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay put 31 balls in play, two shy of the high for any team in a postseason game this year. The Rays were just behind Milwaukee for the top regular-season team batting average, .2585 to .2581, and led the American League in on-base percentage.<\/p>\n Simpson is 12th in sprint speed and DeLuca 16th among players with at least 150 competitive runs this year, according to MLB Statcast.<\/p>\n \u201cJust very contact-oriented,\u201d Rays manager Kevin Cash said. \u201cJust the speed getting down the line, the urgency it forces on the infielders, really good infielders \u2014 it forces them to get out of their comfort zone and make a highlight-reel play. Those are tough to make.\u201d<\/p>\n Yankees’ vanishing offense<\/p>\n New York’s players in the third through seventh spots of the batting order went 0 for 33 with 11 strikeouts in the first two games: Luis Garc\u00eda Jr., Jones, Lombard, Chisholm and Trent Grisham.<\/p>\n Aaron Judge’s absence has been glaring.<\/p>\n New York was fourth in runs, 13th in batting average and second in OPS through May 31, its last game before the three-time AL MVP went on the injured list due to a fractured rib<\/a>.<\/p>\n From June 1 through the end of the season, the Yankees were 24th in runs, 29th in batting average and 27th in OPS. Judge returned for seven games from Sept. 8-16, hitting .174 with three RBIs before a calf strain<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m considering a couple things but haven\u2019t settled on anything,\u201d Boone said of possible lineup changes.<\/p>\n Fried has baby on the way<\/p>\n Fried’s longtime girlfriend, Reni Meyer-Whalley, is due to give birth any day.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a really supportive family that understands that this is my job, and it\u2019s not going to affect what happens tomorrow,\u201d he said Tuesday.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n