TAMPA (Interstat) — The Tampa Bay Rays broke open a tied playoff game with a four-run fifth inning and defeated the New York Yankees 5-2 on Monday night at George Steinbrenner Field. The victory in Game 2 of the American League Division Series moved the Rays closer to advancing and gave them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. A crowd of 40,226 watched the game, which lasted 3 hours, 2 minutes. Tampa Bay improved its season record to 100-64, while New York fell to 95-70. The Rays were the home team, and the Yankees were the visitors in a ballpark that was loud from the first pitch.

Peralta opened with a clean first inning, retiring Rice on a flyout to left fielder Chandler Simpson, Bellinger on a lineout to second baseman Richie Palacios, and García on a swinging strikeout. The Yankees went down in order again in the second, with Spencer Jones flying out sharply to right fielder Victor Mesa Jr., Lombard grounding out to shortstop Taylor Walls, and Chisholm striking out swinging. New York’s third inning was similarly quiet: Trent Grisham flew out to center fielder DeLuca, Wells struck out swinging, and McMahon popped out to third baseman Caminero in foul territory. Schlittler kept the Rays off the scoreboard after their first-inning run, but the Yankees’ offense remained stuck in neutral.

The Rays struck first in the bottom of the first without a hit doing the heavy lifting. Yandy Díaz reached on a fielding error by third baseman Ryan McMahon. Jonathan Aranda followed with a single, and Junior Caminero grounded into a force out that allowed Díaz to score. A throwing error by second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the play helped the run cross. Liam Hicks then reached on catcher interference after a Tampa Bay challenge overturned the original call. Chandler Simpson grounded into a force out, and Victor Mesa Jr. grounded out to end the inning. New York starter Cam Schlittler limited the damage, but the Yankees’ defense had already given Tampa Bay an early edge.

Tampa Bay put a runner in scoring position in the second when DeLuca doubled to left, but Palacios grounded out, Walls grounded out, and Díaz walked before Aranda grounded out. In the third, Caminero singled and Simpson singled, but Mesa lined out and DeLuca grounded into a force out. The Rays had chances to add to their lead before the Yankees tied the game, and their failure to do so kept New York within striking distance.

New York answered in the top of the fourth. Ben Rice homered to right field, tying the game and energizing the visiting dugout. Cody Bellinger followed with a single, but the Yankees could not build on the rally. Luis García Jr. popped out, Spencer Jones grounded into a force out, and George Lombard Jr. popped out. The missed chance loomed larger when New York put together another threat in the fifth. Austin Wells doubled, Ryan McMahon walked, and Rice walked to load the bases with two outs. Bellinger flew out sharply to center fielder Jonny DeLuca, leaving all three runners stranded. New York had four hits in the game and could not take advantage of its best scoring opportunity.

Tampa Bay made the Yankees pay in the bottom of the fifth. Aranda singled sharply to right, and Caminero doubled to center to put runners on second and third. Hicks grounded out to second, scoring Aranda and moving Caminero to third. Chandler Simpson then reached on a fielder’s choice that brought Caminero home. After Mesa struck out, DeLuca reached on a throwing error by shortstop George Lombard Jr., sending Simpson to third. Richie Palacios delivered the biggest hit of the inning, a line-drive single to center that scored both Simpson and DeLuca. The four-run rally turned a tied game into a commanding Tampa Bay lead and chased Schlittler. The Rays had eight hits in the game and used the fifth to seize control.

Schlittler took the loss after allowing six hits and two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out two. Freddy Peralta was Tampa Bay’s top performer, pitching 4 2/3 innings and yielding three hits and one earned run with one walk and three strikeouts. Ian Seymour followed with three innings of one-hit relief, allowing one earned run and striking out four. Cam Booser earned the win in relief, and Bryan Baker closed the game with a scoreless ninth for his 43rd save of the season. Booser now stands 2-0, while Schlittler dropped to 15-7.

New York’s bullpen kept the game within reach after Schlittler departed. Paul Blackburn pitched a scoreless inning, Ryan Weathers recorded two outs without allowing a hit, John Schreiber worked a scoreless inning with one strikeout, and Brent Headrick allowed one hit in two-thirds of an inning without surrendering a run. But the Yankees’ offense could not solve the Tampa Bay relief corps. Rice homered again in the eighth, a solo shot to right that cut the deficit to three. It was his second home run of the game and gave him two RBIs. Rice finished 2 for 3. Austin Wells doubled, Bellinger singled, and the rest of the lineup struggled to sustain rallies.

The Rays’ bullpen and defense did enough after the fifth. Ian Seymour retired the side in order in the sixth, worked around a walk in the seventh, and handed the ball to the back end of the bullpen. Tampa Bay also turned to Booser for a key out in the fifth, and Baker finished the ninth with a clean inning. The win sent Tampa Bay to Yankee Stadium with a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 of the best-of-five ALDS is scheduled for Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees will need to win to avoid facing elimination, while the Rays will try to complete a sweep on the road. The series will return to Tampa if a Game 5 is necessary.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of New York Yankees 8, Tampa Bay Rays 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Yankees a 50.6 percent probability to win. The Yankees were installed as pregame favorites with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 7 went under the over-under line of 6.5.