Yanks Make It Look Easy, Beat Rays 9-2

By Andy Singer

September 23rd, 2026

The Big Story

Last night, the Rays clinched the AL East title at Yankee Stadium. If it felt embarassing to die hard Yankee fans like myself, I can only imagine how it felt for the guys who actually wear pinstripes and play the games. Tonight, they took their frustrations out on the Rays, scoring 9 runs without Aaron Judge in the lineup.

Gerrit Cole's stuff wasn't quite as sharp tonight, but he got ahead in counts and found ways to put batters away with 8 strikeouts across 5.2 innings while allowing just 2 runs. The Bronx Bombers played like their nickname suggests, peppering the Rays with longballs throughout the evening. Ben Rice hit 2 homers while George Lombard Jr. and Ryan Mcmahon each added one of their own.

While it's tempting to view this game through a playoff lens, I would pump the breaks on reading anything into tonight's offensive explosion, fun though it was. 8 of the Yankees' 9 runs came against Mason Englert in the game's first 4 innings, who is highly unlikely to pitch any serious innings for the Rays in the playoffs. The Yankees scraped just one more run together off of a sac fly late in the game, as the Rays' bullpen managed to largely stop the bleeding, albeit far too late.

With the AL East locked up, the Yankees need to focus on securing the top Wildcard seed while testing lineup configurations with likely playoff scenarios in mind. I have some thoughts on that below.

Cole Allows Another Homer

Gerrit Cole allowed another home run on his 4-seam fastball, this time on a well-placed ball up at the top of the zone. Cole has a very serious homer problem in recent starts, and more critically, he has struggled to get any whiffs on his 4-seam fastball. That problem continued tonight, as Cole generated a whiff on just 20% of his 4-seamers. Some would view that figure as the glass half-empty. Given how little confusion hitters have shown against that pitch, I view that statistic in a more favorable light.

Cole did not have his best stuff tonight, with velocity, spin, and break numbers across all of his pitches that were somewhat beneath his averages this season. Despite that, he still managed to improve his 4-seam whiff rate along with his whiff rate on other pitches. He also made good pitches when it counted most, as evidenced by his ability to strikeout 8 hitters on the evening.

If I wanted to pick at Cole a bit, I would note that both runs came on 4-seam fastballs this evening. Cole clearly is lacking either deception on that pitch specifically, or deception overall. Given that fact, I can't help but wonder if Cole will diversify his fastball offerings in the playoffs. He has used a cutter liberally in the past, but it's a pitch we really haven't seen since Cole's return from TJS. Cole is the type of pitcher who might well pull that out as a surprise in the playoffs to give hitters a new wrinkle to think about.

Overall, it was a good outing for Cole. I'm not sure I'd pick him over Schlittler, Rodon, or Fried (in that order, I might add), but Cole remains a viable cog in an elite playoff rotation.

Ben Rice, AL HR Leader!

Ben Rice tied the AL lead for home runs with his first inning shot on a ball up and away that Rice pulled to RF. Rice took the solo lead in the AL with an upper deck shot in the 4th inning, a fastball up and in that left the bat at 108.4 MPH. It was a dominant game from a hitter I think we've all lost sight of a bit.

Ben Rice was ice cold from mid-July to late-August. In 108 plate appearances since August 26th, Ben Rice is hitting .315/.426/.539. He's done that in the heart of a pennant race, and it very much matches his performance from earlier in the season before he took a pickoff attempt to the heel of his mitt, leading him to miss games with a sore palm. The guy Ben Rice has been over the last month is the type of guy you can build a lineup around in October.

Beyond looking ahead to October, I don't think we've talked enough about Ben Rice's season. He's been one of the most dominant hitters in the American League, and he's going to finish the year with close to 4 WAR as a 1B/DH, which is not an easy task given the negative positional adjustment. Ben Rice is a true, unequivocal developmental success, and I don't think we (myself included) take enough time to celebrate that.

Ben Rice has been great all year, and tonight he showcased it against a divisional rival.

McMahon Has A Great Game...

Ryan McMahon produced the highest exit velocity in the game. He smoked balls all over the field and he produced 5 RBI's. By most measures, he was pretty clearly the player of the game. And yet...

...I had a real rant planned prior to this game when I saw the lineups. Does the best Yankee playoff lineup include Ryan McMahon at 3B? I don't think so. Do we know for certain who should be there with everyone healthy? I don't think so either.

I noted a couple of weeks ago that with Jazz healthy, the best Yankee lineup in the playoff likely includes Volpe at 3B. With the Yankees out of the AL East race, it behooves them to test multiple lineup configurations. Aaron Boone seemingly agreed with my take on Volpe and 3B in an interview with Jomboy, and Anthony Volpe noted both his willingness and comfort with 3B. And yet...

...Ryan McMahon was at 3B the day after the Rays clinched. McMahon has been a net negative at the plate and his defense has been average at its best, less than that overall, particularly recently. I think the Yankees are doing themselves a disservice by playing McMahon at 3B right now, even with this offensive explosion.

Lombard Jr. In The 2-Hole...

I am not a fan of hitting Lombard high in the lineup. He deserves to be the Yankee SS, but I think that the Yankees should do everything in their power to take the pressure down a notch for the kid.

So did I have a problem with Lombard Jr. hitting in the 2-hole tonight? No. Why, you ask? I think this was purely a mechanism to get Lombard Jr. more at-bats leading into the playoffs. If he's hitting high when the calendar turns to October, then I'll be mad.

Lombard rewarded the Yankees with a great home run on a fastball to the right-center (opposite field) alley. His 4 K's were less impressive.

Good Vibes In The Bullpen

The bullpen has looked tired lately. The poster boys for that perception have been Blackburn and Bednar, both of whom have struggled with diminished velocity and stuff. Tonight should make Yankee fans breathe a sigh of relief. Blackburn had his typical velocity and more break on his stuff than he has more generally this season, while Bednar saw increased velocity and more ride, life, and spin on his 4-seam fastball, a pitch he needs to be dominant.

I was worried about both guys given their usage this year. This game eased my concerns.

Looking To Tomorrow

The Yankees will look to complete a series victory by taking 3 of 4 games against the Rays. Cam Schlittler will take on Ian Seymour at Yankee Stadium. I'm ready for a moral victory.