ST. PETERSBURG - The Tampa Bay Rays will send right-hander Freddy Peralta to the mound Monday night against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field, with first pitch set for 8 p.m. ET on TBS, truTV and HBO Max.
Peralta, acquired from the Mets at the August trade deadline, has been dominant since joining Tampa Bay. He went 5-0 with a 0.79 ERA over his last six starts and posted a 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in four home starts at Tropicana Field this season. “Everything changed when I got traded,” Peralta said. “I’ve said it before, I’ve been treated here as a king. I feel really good about it.”
The Rays enter Game 2 with momentum after Drew Rasmussen pitched eight innings in Game 1, keeping the rest of the rotation fresh. Closer Bryan Baker finished off the ninth, leaving Peralta and the full bullpen - including Griffin Jax, Ian Seymour, Nick Martinez, Tyler Wells, Kevin Kelly and Cam Booser - available for the remainder of the series.
Opposing Peralta is Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner who led all Major Leaguers in road ERA (1.16), road strikeouts (129), opponent batting average (.153), opponent OBP (.206), opponent OPS (.456) and WHIP (0.74) across 17 road starts this season. Schlittler went 8-2 with that 1.16 ERA away from home and faced the Rays three times during the regular season, posting a 1-1 record and 2.81 ERA. His best outing against Tampa Bay came July 6 at Tropicana Field, where he threw eight innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts and no walks. Schlittler has acknowledged that the Trop’s atmosphere does not rattle him, saying games there usually feel like the Yankees are “kind of playing at home.”
Yankees catcher Austin Wells, who drove in two runs in the Wild Card Series win over Boston and has 17 RBIs over his last 25 games, said the club is eager to build on a pitcher-friendly Game 1. “We’re looking forward to Monday,” Wells said. “[Game 1] was a great game all around for the pitchers, both sides. So I think we’re going to look forward to continuing that on our side, and hopefully get to their guy.”
The Yankees will be without Aaron Judge, who was left off the ALDS roster as he recovers from a right calf strain. Manager Aaron Boone called the decision a “close” call. Clarke Schmidt has been ruled out for the remainder of the postseason. On the Tampa Bay side, left-hander Shane McClanahan will not pitch in this series, though his broader status remains unclear.
The Rays are encouraging fans to arrive early, with parking lots opening at 3 p.m. and gates opening at 5 p.m. - three hours before first pitch. All parking is prepaid only. Former Rays first baseman Carlos Pena, part of the club’s 2008 worst-to-first turnaround, will throw the ceremonial first pitch, and U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Jermaine Robinson will perform the national anthem. The ALDS will also be available in Spanish on UniMas, with Univision’s TUDN Radio providing Spanish-language audio coverage and ESPN Radio carrying national coverage.