'Frustrating' is the word as Rays fall just shy of walk-off vs. Yankees

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Rays appeared to be nowhere close to victory for the bulk of Wednesday’s game against the Yankees. Then one swing by rookie catcher Hunter Feduccia brought them to within maybe a few feet of a much-needed win.

"I thought I had enough,” Feduccia said of his deep fly ball to center off Yankees reliever David Bednar with two runners on and the Rays down to their final strike in the bottom of the ninth.

"I thought he got it,” second baseman Brandon Lowe said of Feduccia’s drive. Starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen concurred: “I thought that ball was out of here.”

Feduccia’s 393-footer would have been a home run in three ballparks, but not George M. Steinbrenner Field. It instead hit just below the top of the center-field wall – good enough for a clutch two-run double to tie the game at 3-3. But also achingly close to a walk-off three-run homer.

“Sure enough, about a foot or two short,” Feduccia said. “Yeah, unfortunate.”

It was an incredible rally for an offense that didn’t even have a baserunner until the seventh inning. But those few feet made a difference as the Yankees struck for three runs in the 10th on their way to a 6-4 triumph over the Rays. It was Tampa Bay’s fifth straight loss against New York, its longest losing streak against its AL East foe since 2019.

Moreover, it was another defeat for a team that sits 6 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot and continues to see its playoff chances shrink with 35 games to play.

"It’s frustrating, and we're using that word probably too much right now,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler kept the Rays’ bats frustrated all night long as he tossed six perfect innings before allowing a leadoff single to Chandler Simpson in the seventh. The Rays loaded the bases that inning, but it ended with Feduccia striking out on three fastballs from reliever Luke Weaver.

Trailing 3-0 in the eighth, Tampa Bay finally broke through when rookie first baseman Bob Seymour launched his first career MLB homer. It was also the first big league home run by a player named Bob since 2002, when infielder Bob Smith homered -- coincidentally -- for the Rays.

In the ninth, a Brandon Lowe walk and a Junior Caminero single set up Feduccia’s chance at redemption. He came through with the biggest hit of his nascent career as he belted a 97.8 mph four-seamer deep into the night.

"It was a big boost of confidence,” said Feduccia, who has just 43 big league at-bats under his belt and came over to the Rays just a few weeks ago as part of a three-team trade. “Still kind of new to the team and working my way into everything. So huge for me, for sure.”

"It's amazing how many balls have gone out here over the last two days, and that one didn't get out,” Cash said. “That was unfortunate.”

The Rays' manager was referring to the Yankees’ barrage of home runs during this series. After hitting nine dingers Tuesday, they homered five more times Wednesday. Those 14 homers tied the 1999 Reds for the most in a two-game span in MLB history.

No. 13 came in the top of the 10th from pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who lined a two-run shot to left off Pete Fairbanks. Catcher Austin Wells made it back-to-back jacks when he crushed a Fairbanks slider a projected 423 feet. Those were the first runs allowed by the Rays' closer in seven appearances this month.

"They hit a ton [of home runs] in the series,” Fairbanks said of the Yankees. “The team's hot. It happens. I got got. But I'm not going to run from the strike zone because of it. … Every mistake can't be hit for a home run every series like it was this one.”

The Rays did bring the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the 10th, but Yandy Díaz and Lowe struck out swinging against Devin Williams to end the game.

Of course, that inning never would have existed if Feduccia’s big knock had traveled just a little farther.

“I was kind of hoping that it was going to go out for him, because it would have been one amazing home run to hit for him,” Lowe said. “But heck of an at-bat. Battled through it. Got honestly a tough fastball to hit and took a really good swing on it.”