Game 2 of the ALDS turned into disaster for the New York Yankees. The Yankees made so many mistakes that Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s costly error against the Tampa Bay Rays may not have been the worst of the night. Facing elimination from the 2026 MLB Postseason, manager Aaron Boone knows better than to point blaming fingers, though.
Instead, the Yankees’ dugout-boss urged the team to turn the page. That’s not to say the mistakes made by Chisholm Jr. and company in Game 2 will be brushed aside and left unaddressed, but it signals New York won’t beat around a dead horse. What’s done is done. The Yankees must move on and turn around a 0-2 series deficit. If they fail, then history will judge them.
“Yeah, some good defenders that didn’t make a couple of plays. We’ve got to get over it, though,” Boone said after Game 2 of the ALDS at Tropicana Field. “As simple as that. We can’t dwell on what just happened to us, we’ve got to come ready playing for our lives Wednesday night and I expect this team to do that. We’ve stared a lot of uncertainty in the face all year and these guys have responded time and time again. We need to do that again right now.“
One of those nights for NY Yankees
The Yankees are largely to be blamed for putting themselves in the less-than-favorable position they are in. However, they have had some tough luck so far against the Rays. Game 2 best exemplified it.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees.
With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Cody Bellinger made solid contact with a ball that felt destined for a trip over the wall. It came up just short and the inning was over.
What could’ve been a 5-1 lead for the Bronx Bombers midway through Game 2 turned into that exact lead for the home team in the bottom of the inning. Again, the Yankees must let bygones be bygones, else their chances of surviving elimination in the 2026 MLB Postseason will be slim and none.
Yankees abandoned what worked before
The Yankees are looking different from their AL Wild Card version. If they deserved praise for weathering Aaron Judge’s absence last round — and actually playing smarter baseball as a result — the Pinstripers deserve equal criticism for steering away of it in the ALDS.
Obviously, the Rays’ lineup offers a tougher challenge, but it may be no excuse for the Yankees abandoning what previously worked. New York had shown a side it rarely did. The Yanks didn’t rely on the typical home-run-or-bust strategy they had in previous postseasons, but are falling back on that sword again.
As great as Ben Rice’s play has been this postseason, the fact his solo homers are the only runs New York has been able to put on the board against Tampa Bay is very telling. Standing between a rock and a hard place, the Yankees have no choice but to pull off an improbable 180-degree turn, or the season will be over.
Key takeaways
- Aaron Boone urged the Yankees to move on after Game 2 mistakes.
- New York blew a potential 5-1 lead after Cody Bellinger’s flyout ended the fifth inning.
- Solo home runs by Ben Rice account for all of New York’s ALDS scoring.
