The Yankees entered this series knowing it was their last chance to hold off the Rays by their own play, otherwise they’d be welcoming a neck-and-neck race for a division title that they had under lock and chain since early June. Despite this, they kicked off the first game with a stagnant offensive showing again and couldn’t prevent Tampa from finding one big inning to blow the game wide open.
The Rays jumped out to an immediate 1-0 lead in the first, aided by the return of their shortstop Wander Franco. Franco doubled on the first pitch he saw from Frankie Montas, who was not as sharp as he was the last time he faced this lineup, and scored when Randy Arozarena followed him with a double of his own.