Yankees come up short again in Game 5 loss to Rays

SAN DIEGO (AP) — When the New York Yankees needed their star-studded lineup to produce runs in an elimination playoff game, they got three hits.

When they really could have used a special play in the field to save a run, Aaron Judge hit his head on the wall.

And when the Yankees needed their superstar closer to shut down the Tampa Bay Rays, Aroldis Chapman gave up a homer to an undrafted infielder who had never gone yard in a playoff game.

New York's season came to a crashing end in San Diego on Friday night with a 2-1 loss in Game 5 of the AL Division Series. After failing to reach the World Series for the 11th consecutive year, the big-budget, high-expectation Yankees head into an uncertain offseason with the certain knowledge they weren't even the best team in the AL East this season.

“It’s awful,” manager Aaron Boone said. “The ending is cruel, it really is.”

The team's biggest faults in Game 5 were on offense. Judge's fourth-inning homer was the only extra-base hit in Game 5 by a lineup that crushed a major league-record 17 homers in its seven playoff games, only to lose three of the final four games in that stretch.

“I felt like we got to their pitching a little bit, but they were just able to make key pitches in key situations,” Judge said. “We just weren’t able to capitalize. We’d mishit a ball, or just miss it. It’s tough. We’ve got a lot of changes we need to make.”

While Tampa Bay will face the Houston Astros on Sunday in the ALCS, the Yankees will lament the inconsistency that will define this season. The Yanks were among the most impressive teams in the sport when they were good — but frequently embarrassing when they weren't.

The Yankees averaged 5.7 runs per game during a red-hot 16-6 start, but then the bats went ice cold...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Yankees-come-up-short-again-in-Game-5-loss-to-Rays-15635556.php