Tampa Bay Rays 4, New York Yankees 6

Tampa Bay opened this four-game set with a 6-1 win. Since then, almost everything has gone New York’s way.

The Yankees answered with a 2-0 shutout and then broke the series open with a 9-2 victory, putting themselves in position to take three of four from the AL East leaders. Tampa Bay still holds a five-game division lead and owns a 7-4 edge in the season series, but the final game at Yankee Stadium comes with New York holding the immediate momentum.

Cam Schlittler gives the Yankees an imposing matchup for the finale. He has worked 190.2 innings with a 1.94 ERA, 2.57 FIP and 0.91 WHIP. He also strikes out 11.1 batters per nine, nearly identical to Ian Seymour’s 11.0.

The separation comes elsewhere. Seymour carries a 4.38 ERA and has allowed 1.80 home runs per nine; Schlittler is at 0.80.

That home-run number matters against a New York lineup that leads MLB with 221. The Rays have built their offense differently, hitting .258 with a .326 on-base percentage and averaging 4.53 runs per game.

New York also has the stronger season bullpen ERA, 3.13 to Tampa Bay’s 3.97, although the Rays’ 1.19 relief WHIP ranks second in baseball.

Tampa Bay has the division lead. New York has already taken control of the series. Schlittler now gets the ball with a chance to make sure it stays that way through the final out.