One Good, One Bad: Game 2 ALDS

By Andrew Hefner

October 6, 2026

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Ahead of 2026, the New York Yankees set off with an interesting strategy of “running it back,” after being eliminated in last year’s ALDS by the Toronto Blue Jays.

A year later, the Yankees have made the same mistakes they did in the 2024 World Series and the 2025 ALDS, and now it seems 2026 may be exactly what “running it back” was expected to produce.

After a disaster of a game, the Yankees find themselves down two games to none in a five-game series after falling to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on the road. Let’s look at One Good and One Bad from Game 2 of the 2026 ALDS.

The Good

Ben Rice, enough said.

I will say more, though, because he does really deserve it. Rice’s story is incredible. An Ivy League baseball player, to a late-round pick, an unranked prospect, to now the hottest hitter in the MLB postseason. He has put in the work at every level and every stage in his career, and this season, not just in the playoffs, it has shown. He has been one of the few players who have stepped up in the absence of Aaron Judge and others, and has shown leadership and a clutch factor unseen in the Yankees organization over recent seasons.  

According to Baseball Savant, his xSLG is in the 97th percentile in all of baseball, has a 14.3% barrel percentage (really good), an almost 13% walk rate, and his overall batting run value is in the 98th percentile in baseball. In other words, he is extremely good.

In just his third season, he has room to grow, and with a competent team around him (Cashman, take notes), he will be the leader of the next generation of Baby Bombers that are making their way into the league. Judge was not there this year to be the captain game in and game out, and Ben Rice has shown he can take up the mantle at a moment's notice.

The Bad

I feel the same way as I did after the last game. The offense did not show up. Unfortunately, that is somehow not the biggest embarrassing issue the Yankees faced in Game Two. Reminiscent of the now infamous fifth inning of the final game of the 2024 World Series, the Yankees got the night started in the first with an error, and then another, and then a run surrendered, and more errors, and by the end of the ninth inning the Yankees had four errors and found themselves in a three-run deficit.

Cam Schlittler was on the mound. Cam Schlittler made it only 4.1 innings and needed five relief pitchers. What an utter embarrassment. The best pitcher in the league takes the mound, and the defense does not show up when it matters most.

The miscues were fundamental baseball. Ryan McMahon did not play a bouncing ball correctly, Jazz Chisholm botched a toss to second base, and so on and so forth. I love that it continues to have the exact same problems every year, and yet “running it back” was the most convenient option for Brian Cashman and the Yankees front office. This game was a letdown to Cam Schlittler and a letdown to the fans, and the Yankees have no one to blame but themselves.

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Game Three of the ALDS is on Wednesday, October 7th at 8:00 pm on TBS. Max Fried will take the mound in the Boogie Down Bronx as the Yankees look to bounce back again and avoid elimination, this time at home.