ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Yankees spent the last five weeks looking up at the red-hot Rays in the AL East.
On Friday, they got a first-hand view of the buzzsaw in human form and put up a battle before falling even further behind.
A costly fielding miscue from left fielder Jake Bauers in the seventh inning proved to be the difference, with the Rays squeezing out a 5-4 win over the Yankees in front of 25,007 at a boisterous Tropicana Field.
With the win, the Rays (27-6) bolstered their lead atop the division and improved to 10 games ahead of the last-place Yankees (17-16), who have now lost eight of their last 12 games.
“It’s a long-ass season and we’re grinding right now,” manager Aaron Boone said, irritated by another question about the early-season divisional deficit. “It’s tough for us right now. But we gotta find a way and the guys are competing their asses off.”
The Yankees came back from an early 4-0 deficit to tie the game on Harrison Bader’s three-run homer in the sixth inning, but then fell behind again an inning later on a play that should have been made.
With one out and a runner on first in the seventh inning, Wander Franco hit a line drive to left field off Jimmy Cordero.
Bauers ran back and then jumped to catch it, but the ball went in and out of his glove and dropped before he booted it on the warning track.
That allowed Yandy Diaz to score all the way from first base for the 5-4 lead, with the relay home just late.
“That ball’s gotta be caught,” said Bauers, in his second game back after injuring his knee on a highlight-reel catch last Saturday in Texas. “Bad read, got a bad jump on it, couldn’t recover.”
The Yankees then threatened to tie it back up or take the lead in the eighth inning, as a pinch-hit double from Kyle Higashioka put runners on second and third with one out.
But Bader popped up to shortstop, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, pinch-hitting for the left-handed hitting Bauers against left-hander Colin Poche, struck out to leave the tying run 90 feet away.
The game also included a heated moment in the fifth inning, when both teams were issued warnings after Randy Arozarena was hit for a second time in two plate appearances following a first-inning home run.
The dugouts were chirping back and forth, with Yankees catching instructor Tanner Swanson and Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder appearing to jaw at each other, though there was no carryover the rest of the game.
“We’re not trying to hit anyone,” Boone said.
The Rays jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the third inning on Jhony Brito, who gave up a pair of home runs to Arozarena and Diaz during his four-inning start.
The Yankees did not have a hit until the fourth inning off Rays right-hander Yonny Chirinos, but they finally knocked him out in the sixth and tied the game shortly after.
Anthony Rizzo got the rally started with a one-out single, which Gleyber Torres followed with an RBI double to make it a 4-1 game.
Chirinos then walked DJ LeMahieu before lefty reliever Garrett Cleavinger entered from the bullpen to strike out Willie Calhoun for the second out.
But Bader came up next and channeled his October form, crushing a three-run home run 436 feet to left-center field to tie the game at four.
Bader clobbered the 96 mph fastball, tossed his bat and then immediately pointed back to the Yankees’ dugout as he trotted up the first-base line.
The good feelings didn’t last long, though, as the Rays came back to ensure they were the first team since the 1984 Tigers to win at least 27 of its first 33 games.
That year was also the last time the Yankees faced a double-digit divisional deficit this early in a season, per MLB.com.
“It’s super early,” Bader said. “We’re just finding our groove and still playing a lot of good baseball. So there’s no concern whatsoever.”
