Rays on the verge of sweeping Yankees after ALDS Game 2 win

They are now one win away from sweeping the Division Series for the first time in franchise history. The last time the Rays swept a series in the Postseason was in 2020, when they swept the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card round. 

There could still be hope for a Yankees comeback. They were the last team to achieve such in the 2017 ALDS when they were down 0-2 to the Cleveland Guardians. 

Tampa Bay are now on the cusp of making the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2020 - the same year they lost in seven games during the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Recap

It took the Rays no time at all to get on the board in Game 2. After putting two on with no outs, the Rays scored after Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. committed a throwing error on an attempted double play.

The Yankees were then called for catcher's interference before Chisholm almost committed his second error of the game when he almost overthrew George Lombard Jr. on another attempted double play that left runners at the corners. 

But the damage was minimized as the Rays scored only once. New York became just a third team in MLB history with three errors in the opening inning (1903 Red Sox, 1909 Tigers).

In the bottom half of the second inning, Tampa had more chances to capitalize on their lead with runners at the corners with two outs. But, just like the first inning, it ended with a routine groundout. 

Freddy Peralta continued his dominance through the third inning, retiring the first nine batters of the game that he faced, three being strikeouts.

The Rays had yet another opportunity to add to their lead with a runner on second. But Yankees' ace Cam Schlittler got out of the jam once again. Only this time, the Yankees finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. 

Yankees slugger Ben Rice launched a solo shot for the team's first hit of the game. Cody Bellinger reached base right after with a single before Peralta sent down the next three batters to get out of the inning. 

After a fantastic start to the night, Peralta was pulled with two outs in the top of the fourth after giving up a double and a walk. He finished with just three K's, three hits, one walk, and one earned run. Cam Booser came in for Peralta and immediately walked Rice to load the bases for Bellinger.

The lefty launched a bomb to deep center, but it fell just short on the warning track as Booser avoided disaster.

With runners on second and third in the bottom half of the inning, the Rays finally got back on the scoreboard thanks to a Liam Hicks groundout to make it a 2-1 game.

Chandler Simpson knocked in the third run for the Rays on an infield single to make it 3-1. The Rays were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position at that point.

Brent Headrick took over for Schlitter, who finished his first career Postseason road start with two earned runs (three runs total) on seven hits and one walk. His two strikeouts are the lowest in any of his 35 starts this entire season, as he remains the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award.

But the Rays wouldn't be fazed by the pitching change.

With runners on second and third, Richie Palacios brought in both Simpson and Johnny DeLuca with a two-run single to make it a 5-1 ballgame before the end of the fifth.

Rays reliever Ian Seymour was almost flawless in the three innings that he pitched. He recorded four strikeouts, no walks, and only one run on hit. 

That hit was Rice's second solo home run of the game that cut the Rays' lead to 5-2, but it wasn't enough as Bryan Baker came on for his second straight save this series. 

Rice's two home runs made up four of the Yankees' hits in total. They have now been held to just five hits this division round, the fewest by any team from both the AL and NL. They originally finished the regular season ranked 29th in total hits, sitting only above the Cincinnati Reds (1,231) with 1,250. 

Game 3 of the ALDS between the Rays and Yankees is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7th in New York.