Just How Far Can the Rays’ Brand of Baseball Go?
Tampa Bay's combination of small ball, situational hitting and stellar pitching could very well result in a deep postseason run.
Tropicana Field roared as New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler left the mound in the fifth inning of Game 2 of the 2026 ALDS on Monday night.
Schlittler, the heavy favorite to win the American League Cy Young Award, was noticeably rattled from the start and did not find any consistency, not because of any big hit or home run.
In fact, it was just about the opposite, as he watched his defense completely melt down behind him. The Yankees combined to commit four errors as Tampa Bay won 5-2, jumping out to a 2-0 series lead.
The Tampa Bay Rays’ style of baseball throughout the 2026 season has lent itself perfectly to what transpired on Monday, though with some variation to it.
Three of New York’s four errors came in the first inning alone: Ryan McMahon’s fielding error to lead off the game, allowing Yandy Díaz to reach first; Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s errant throw toward the Rays dugout on a potential double play; and catcher interference called on Austin Wells as Liam Hicks struck out looking at the time.
Tampa Bay took advantage of miscues, but they also hit Schlittler hard as they recorded 11 hard-hit balls off him and seven hits overall, including a pair of doubles from Jonny DeLuca and Junior Caminero.
Both of those hits got runners into scoring position, which the Rays then took advantage of thanks to small ball, forcing the Yankees to make plays that they were unable to make, especially up the middle between Chisholm Jr. and George Lombard Jr., both of whom had at least one error on the night.
“We know who we are,” outfielder Chandler Simpson said postgame. “We know who we are. We know who we’ve been all season and just try to play our game that best catered to that.”
Hicks gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning on an RBI groundout hit 55.1 miles per hour. Chandler Simpson, who followed Hicks, made it 3-1 on a 64.8 mph ground ball that went under Lombard Jr.’s glove and into short left-center field.
Richie Palacios’ two-run single later in the inning had an exit velocity of just a hair under 100 mph, but there was constant pressure put on the Yankees early to match the Rays, and they simply couldn’t.
“To put it on them right there and steal momentum, that was massive,” Rays closer Bryan Baker said postgame. “That’s Rays baseball right there … It’s exactly the way we wanted to start the series.”
On the other side of the ball, Tampa Bay continues to play sound defense, backing up their stellar pitching, which has remained relatively fresh heading to New York for Game 3 on Wednesday.
The Rays, who were top-10 in MLB in the regular season in earned-run average, WHIP, opponent average, walks allowed, hits allowed and runs allowed as a pitching staff, have used just five pitchers through their first two ALDS games.
Three relief pitchers in Bryan Baker, Cam Booser and Ian Seymour are the only relief arms that Tampa Bay has touched, thanks to a historic Game 1 start from Drew Rasmussen and an impressive Game 2 relief outing from Seymour.
Rasmussen struck out 10 across eight shutout innings of baseball, carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning, leaving Baker to throw a scoreless frame in the ninth to secure the victory, while Seymour, in his first playoff outing, allowed one run and one hit across three innings of work, striking out four.
Seymour allowed just one hard hit, using his sinker 41 percent of the time as his average exit velocity allowed was 77.6 mph.
“Over the course of the season, being able to do so many different roles made that transition a lot easier,” Seymour said postgame. “… I had my routine and I just sort of stuck to that and was able to execute.”
Freddy Peralta, who started Game 2 ahead of Seymour, continued to use his changeup to his advantage, getting three whiffs as he finished his outing, just 4.2 innings, with 12 whiffs.
The two combined had 18 whiffs in 7.2 innings of work, something that Rasmussen surpassed on his own on Saturday, recording 23 whiffs in eight innings, 43 percent of all swings in his outing.
It’s worth noting that Tropicana Field did gift the Rays an out on a Spencer Jones fly ball hitting the ‘B’ ring early on, but this combination of small ball, situational hitting and stellar pitching is a winning combination that could very well result in a deep postseason run for Tampa Bay.
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