Cam Schlittler hit hard early, Yankees' comeback comes up short in 5-4 loss to Rays

(Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)

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Cam Schlittler hit hard early, Yankees' comeback comes up short in 5-4 loss to Rays

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Cam Schlittler hit hard early, Yankees' comeback comes up short in 5-4 loss to Rays

2 / 2

Cam Schlittler hit hard early, Yankees' comeback comes up short in 5-4 loss to Rays

(Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)

The Yankees dropped their fifth straight game, falling to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday by a score of 5-4.

Here are the key takeaways…

-- Aaron Judge has been mired in an early-season slump, but he made things very interesting in the ninth inning. With the Rays up 5-2, Judge worked a full count and then demolished a two-run homer to right-center, sending one 415 feet to make it a one-run game. Later. with two outs, Jose Caballero lined one just over the reach of Cedric Mullins in center for a double, putting the tying run in scoring position with two outs.

After an intentional walk to Austin Wells, the Rays went after Ryan McMahon, who grounded out on one pitch to end the game and continue his early-season woes.

-- Cam Schlittler allowed singles to the first two batters he faced, and a Yandy Diaz groundout gave Rays an early 1-0 lead. Mullins then led off the second with a triple, and even with infield in, Mullins scored on groundout to shortstop. Chandler Simpson added an RBI single later in the inning, and the Rays were putting pressure on Schlittler early, up 3-0 after two. The Rays had five hits against Schlittler in the first two innings.

Schlittler settled in after the bumpy start, but ended up going just 5.0 innings (85 pitches), allowing three earned runs on seven hits, striking out eight and walking one.

-- It was another tough day at the office for the Yankees’ bats, at least in the early going. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen allowed just one hit, a Jazz Chisholm Jr. double, through his first five innings of work, striking out five to that point.

Following the Chisholm double, Rasmussen retired 14 Yankees in a row, as he ended up going 6.0 innings while allowing just one hit. He struck out seven and didn't walk a batter.

-- But the tide started to change in the seventh. After Ben Rice appeared to hit a solo home run, replay showed it was actually a ground-rule double as the ball got stuck in the top of the wall. But the Yankees capitalized with a Cody Bellinger RBI single to make it a 3-1 game. Later in the inning, with runners at second and third and one out, pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton drove in another run with an RBI groundout, but Wells left a runner stranded at third base with two-away, which would have been the tying run.

The next half inning, Chandler Simpson led off with a triple and came in to score on a Junior Caminero sac fly, and just like that, a potential tie game became a two-run Rays lead. The Rays added another run in the eighth, and that ultimately proved to be the winning run.

GAME MVP

Rasmussen, who turned in six shutout innings.

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

The Yankees head back to the Bronx for a seven-game homestand, playing the first of four games against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night at 7:05 p.m.

Will Warren will face lefty Yusei Kikuchi.