Rays sweep Yankees out of AL Division Series, extending New York’s title drought to 17 years

NEW YORK — Max Fried gave up two home runs, the New York Yankees had one taken off the board by fan interference and then their season ended Thursday night with a whimper.

After Anthony Volpe’s would-be tying homer in the bottom of the sixth inning turned into a double on video review, the Yankees did not get a runner past second base. When leadoff hitter Trent Grisham struck out to end the ninth, it capped a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of the AL Division Series and a series sweep that extended the Yankees’ championship drought to 17 years.

After sweeping Boston in the Wild Card Series, New York never led against the Rays and has not advanced past a higher-seeded team in the postseason since 2020.

Without injured slugger Aaron Judge, the Yankees were one-hit and shut out in the opener, when catcher Austin Wells’ baserunning blunder loomed large. Game 2 included four errors to get pushed to the brink of elimination.

The Yankees didn’t go quietly — at least initially. When Fried gave up a run apiece in the third and fourth innings, the bats responded each time to tie the score.

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/sports