The Rays are known as one of the most innovative teams in baseball with how they do so much with so little resources. This year, despite the most injuries in baseball, they won the most games in the American League, winning the AL East for the first time in a decade. To say Kevin Cash has been great up to this point would be an understatement, but it all blew up in his face tonight.

The pitchers to go down include their number four starter Yonny Chirinos who likely would’ve started tonight’s game if it weren’t for Tommy John Surgery, relievers Colin Poche, Oliver Drake, Andrew Kittredge, Cody Reed, Jose Alvarado and others. So, they decided to go right back to their old tricks, a trick that cost Aaron Boone Game 2 in the same series: the opener.

Ryan Yarbrough was brought into the Major Leagues as a bulk guy, but was primarily a starter this season and never really came in with runners aboard. Instead of starting Yarbrough, he opts to start Ryan Thompson. Thompson had a 4.44 ERA in the regular season, as well as numerous command issues. In five games against the Yankees in the regular season, he gave up four runs over six innings. He has not been stellar against the Yankees offense in any facet.

The idea of the opener is simple: you take away bringing the reliever in for the top of the order (in this case, DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks) in a later inning, rather start the middle reliever so that you can stretch the primary starter for longer facing the top of the order fewer times. The issue is that there’s so many things that have to go right and they didn’t for the Rays. Thompson escaped the first inning unscathed but had zero control, yet still went out for the second and immediately gave up a homerun. He would walk the next three batters and Kevin Cash still left him in. Most of the pitches were uncompetitive. Yarbrough worked uncomfortably out of the jam already in a 2-0 hole to start his night.

All things considered, the inning could’ve gone a lot worse. However, anybody with a brain or who follows this team could’ve seen this coming. Starting your worst available reliever, against a lineup who owned him when they weren’t even healthy, that is now fully healthy, is an objectively terrible move. Then, Ryan Yarbrough had to throw stressful pitches to clean up the mess.

As for the lineup, woof.

Where do I even begin with this? Their opponent was Jordan Montgomery, who isn’t the most viable starting pitcher at all. The Rays roughed him up on September 2nd, in a game where Michael Brosseau hit two homeruns. Michael Brosseau did not get the start, rather Brandon Lowe has not gotten a hit in the series, including tonight. He was 0-for-his-last-22 heading into the night against Yankee pitching and you’re not only playing him over a better matchup, but you put him second. The guys who hit second in the Majors? Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Manny Machado. The best hitters on each club, because it’s the most important spot in any rally. When Yandy Diaz started the game with a basehit, Lowe softly hits into a double play. When the Rays later had the bases loaded, he bats into a force out that would have been a double play if the shift wasn’t on. In the biggest lineup spot, he killed every rally. He’s hitting .100 in the postseason. This is not the time of year you put a guy cold as ice in the most important batting spot and say “he’ll eventually work through it” considering there’s only two games left potentially.

The rest of the lineup choices is overall fine. The order is not. Brosseau in at second would be a perfect leadoff hitter. The issue with Yandy Diaz at leadoff is you need him to get on base, not hit homeruns. His bread and butter is hitting homeruns. Joey Wendle was the second hottest hitter on the team tonight, and he was in the six hole, when he’d give you speed and contact up top. Putting Brosseau first and Wendle second would give Randy Arozarena the best opportunity to drive in runners. Instead, Brosseau pinch hits in a poor matchup for Wendle late. Diaz is also hurt, so needing him to run well isn’t necessarily ideal. Hitting him fifth hides him out of the box and plays to his strengths. Manuel Margot hit fifth. Margot’s had a fine postseason, but in the regular season he had a .679 OPS. .750 is league average. You put a below league average hitter in the heart of the order, a guy who only hit one homerun in the regular season. He had Kiermaier in a perfect spot and Kiermaier did well, but he lifted him for Hunter Renfroe late. I like Hunter Renfroe, I think he should’ve been starting because he was hot heading into the series but he benched him for four days and so Renfroe went without seeing live pitching. Only down three, he took out one of his hottest bats and by far his best glove, to rest him for tomorrow, essentially giving up on this game. He didn’t even use his best available bench bat in Austin Meadows when pinch hitting.

You’re only down three runs. There have been a number of times in the past week that you’ve scored three or more runs in an inning. You gave up, so that you can face Gerrit Cole, albeit on short rest. He’s still a better pitcher than Blake Snell, who will also be on short rest. Blake Snell did not perform well in Game One, he normally does not perform well against the Yankees historically. In 18 regular season games, Snell is 4-6 vs New York with a 4.31 ERA.

At the end of the day, you can’t win them all but this is a series that should be over right now if you’re Tampa. The team that owned the Yankees in the regular season will likely lose in five ALDS games. Kevin Cash made a couple of obvious, crucial errors and then gave up for the opportunity to face a top five pitcher in baseball in Gerrit Cole in a win or go home scenario. Last year, the Rays dealt with Gerrit Cole in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Astros. They lost 6-1, with the only Ray to cross the plate being current Milwaukee Brewer Eric Sogard after he ambushed a heater.

Who will see a rematch with Houston? We’ll find out tomorrow. For Cash, it will be all hands on deck with Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Charlie Morton all available on short rest. The Yankees have their horse. Can the Alliance take down the fully operational Death Star when it matters?

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