Rays lose nail-biter in extras to fall back below .500 on eve of Trade Deadline 

NEW YORK -- On the eve of the Trade Deadline, what could have been one of the Rays' biggest wins of the year turned into one of their toughest losses.

Tampa Bay fell to the Yankees, 5-4, in 11 innings at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night, blowing three leads and squandering a dramatic go-ahead home run by Josh Lowe off Devin Williams in the ninth inning.

The Rays fell back below .500 at the worst possible time -- when they were trying to showcase that their team is worth keeping together for a playoff push.

Instead, they allowed the Yankees to rally over and over in the late innings. The Yankees came back in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings before delivering the final blow in the 11th, a long walk-off single by Ryan McMahon well over a drawn-in Rays outfield. And in the aftermath of the loss, news broke that starting pitcher Zack Littell -- who had delivered five scoreless innings against the Bronx Bombers -- was being traded to the Reds.

"I'd like to point out that our collective record as an organization in the month of July is horrible," said closer Pete Fairbanks, when asked if he could pinpoint a root cause of the Tampa Bay bullpen's collective struggles, after surrendering a game-tying home run to Anthony Volpe in the bottom of the ninth. "And so we're gonna flip it to Aug. 1 hopefully in one more day and leave it all in the past."

But flipping the calendar to Aug. 1 means going through Thursday's Trade Deadline. The Rays have already traded Littell and catcher Danny Jansen, and there might be more moves coming in the final hours.

"I've let that run its course on me already. The waiting game, the wondering if it's going to happen or not," said Brandon Lowe, a veteran leader of this Rays team who could be a trade candidate himself, having been linked to interested teams like the Astros and Mets. "I'm just kind of over trying to play GM."

Lowe returned from the injured list Wednesday and had an immediate impact for the Rays, going 2-for-4 with an RBI double he hooked into the right-field corner off Yankees starter Will Warren.

Lowe playing usually means the Rays are winning. Before Wednesday's game, with Lowe in the lineup this season, Tampa Bay was 48-38, compared to 6-16 without him.

Wednesday's loss felt like it could have been pivotal.

"Everybody in here understands everyone else is frustrated," Lowe said. "Everybody wants to win. So we all understand that something needs to change. We have to make an adjustment somewhere."

The Rays got a spark from Brandon Lowe, a great start from Littell, the incredible clutch homer from Josh Lowe off Williams' "airbender" changeup and multiple chances to close out the Yankees and get back above .500.

Instead, they fell to 54-55 on the season and 7-17 in July. They're 2-8 in their last 10 games.

"I'm not too encouraged by too much," manager Kevin Cash said.

And now they're losing Littell, who lowered his ERA to 3.58 on the season in his final start for the Rays.

"I still have the same thoughts that I had before," Littell said. "I believe this group is good enough to win. I think they're better than a .500 team. I think if you look at the difference between last year's .500 and this year's .500, it's not the same. It's a talented group that can win and knows how to win."

But the Rays will have to do it without him as he departs for Cincinnati.

"I love the guys in this clubhouse," Josh Lowe said. "But at the end of the day, I trust the front office and the decisions they make. If they decide to trade more guys … great. If they don't … great. I'm gonna suit up and go to war with whoever's in here."