Yankees Edge Rays as July Nears Its End

Sure, here's a rewritten version of your text: At 1-0 heading into the eighth inning, it seemed pretty clear how this game would conclude. It simply required an additional few innings before it played out as everyone expected… Another instance of a lost lead, failed save, and ultimately a walk-off victory for the New York Yankees.

The Rays started the day with a 500 record and finished the evening below .500 for the first time since May 25th. Their dramatic drop from being only half a game behind the top-ranked Yankees to now trailing by an overwhelming 9.5 games within just over a month has been incredibly tough to witness. This was once again true on Wednesday night.

The Rays took an early 1-0 advantage in the third inning after Brandon Lowe hit an RBI double. Zach Littell contributed during what turned out to be his last game with the Rays. He pitched five innings without giving up any runs, yielding only two hits. He issued four walks and recorded four strikeouts.

Cleavinger and Englert each threw scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh, keeping the game at 1-0 heading into the eighth.

However, as has been true throughout the entire season, the pressure eventually built up and led to a lost advantage by the Rays' bullpen. Midseason addition, Brian Baker, stepped onto the field in the eighth inning and immediately gave up two runs, along with the lead.

Down by 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Josh Lowe seized control and hit a game-changing two-run home run along the right-field fence. This shot put the Rays ahead with a score of 3-2.

Fairbanks entered during the latter part of the inning and immediately lost the lead, allowing a tying home run off Anthony Volpe. The Yankees failed to score the go-ahead run in the ninth, leaving the outcome to be determined by Manfred-Ball.

The Rays succeeded in loading the bases during the 10th inning, and with one out, Aranda hit a pop-up to left field that nearly resulted in a game-winning grand slam. However, it turned into a deep sacrifice fly, giving the Rays a 4-3 advantage.

It still wasn't sufficient when Edwin Uceta allowed a one-out game-tying triple from Cody Bellinger. However, with a runner on third and fewer than two outs, Uceta managed to get out of the situation, taking the game into the 11th inning.

The Rays failed to score, and then Kevin Kelly took the field hoping to bring them into the 12th inning. Just moments after his name was called through the speaker system, the game ended. Following Dominguez being put on base to create a double-play opportunity, Kelly swiftly eliminated that danger but committed a balk, advancing Jazz to third and Dominguez to second. Ryan McMahon finished the job by hitting a long fly ball to deep center, allowing Chisholm Jr. to cross home plate and securing a 5-4 victory for the Yankees.

Overall, the Rays' relief pitching failed to maintain three different one-run advantages starting in the eighth inning.

Same outcome, different evening. The drop in rankings mentioned earlier has closely matched a terrible period from the bullpen, and there’s no way around it. It seems like no lead is secure, and a one-run gap might just as well be a four-run gap. Games that are tied rarely stay that way for very long. Whenever the Rays require a victory the most, they've repeatedly failed to deliver.