The day against Tampa Bay left two faces of the Yankees. first came the 2-0 built on the dominance of Carlos Rodon. Then, the 6-1 defeat in the second match allowed the Rays to secure the East of the American League at Yankee Stadium.
The most visible problem was the offensive: Drew Rasmussen kept New York with no hits until the seventh inning and finished with 11 strikeouts. In a closed meeting, running out of base traffic during so many entries reduces the margin to respond even when the starter competes.
There are also details that deserve attention. A Taylor Walls touch play found the first unprotected base. The base coverage seems small in the scoreboard summary, but those execution errors gain more weight in short series compared to teams that press with the ball in play.
The Yankees already have the location for the wildcard series, according to the official coverage of MLB. That offers a new opportunity; It does not clear the alert signals. In the Yankees we will especially follow the turns with runners on the base, the discipline of the lineup and the defense of the routine plays. There may be the difference between a real reaction and repeating what happened to the Rays.