Yankees 6, Rays 4: Lombard's Seventh, and Schlittler's 1.95

Four runs down, then Lombard to left

September 24, 2026 - New York - The New York Yankees trailed 4-0 in the sixth. Ian Seymour had given them one hit through five. Then Austin Wells homered to center, his 14th. George Lombard Jr. doubled Ben Rice home in the seventh. A wild pitch scored Lombard. Paul Goldschmidt singled Wells home. 4-4. Lombard hit a two-run fly to left in the eighth, his seventh, Amed Rosario scoring with him. New York beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 at Yankee Stadium.

Partly cloudy. 64 degrees. Wind 13 mph in from left. First pitch 7:08 p.m. Attendance 44,136. The game lasted 2 hours, 51 minutes. The Yankees had seven hits and two errors. Tampa Bay had nine hits and one error.

Cam Schlittler threw three innings in his 33rd and last regular-season start: three hits, two runs, one earned, two walks, five strikeouts, 70 pitches. The Yankees held him there on purpose. The MLB recap said the 1.95 ERA is the club's lowest since Ron Guidry's 1.74 in 1978, and that only Spud Chandler (1.64 in 1943) and Guidry have posted lower marks for the franchise since ERA became official in 1913.

"In hindsight, you look at the whole season and what I've been able to accomplish with the guys in this locker room. It's been special," Schlittler said, per MLB.com. "There's always more work to be done. You can always get better, and I'm going to take that confidence into the Wild Card [Series]."

Seymour's five zeroes, then the sixth leaked

Seymour threw five innings: one hit, no runs, no walks, three strikeouts, 58 pitches, 41 strikes. He did not get the decision. Yandy Díaz singled Taylor Walls home in the third, a throwing error by Heliot Ramos sending Díaz to second. Junior Caminero singled Díaz home. 2-0. Caminero singled Díaz home again in the fifth. 3-0. Liam Hicks forced Ryan Vilade across in the sixth, and Luis Gil missed a catch. 4-0.

Jake Woodford allowed Wells's homer through 1 1/3. Brody Hopkins walked in a run on a wild pitch. Steven Matz (the loss) allowed Lombard's homer through 1 1/3. Michael Fulmer, Tim Hill, and Gil bridged the middle. Gil walked four in two innings and was charged with an unearned run. Bradley Hanner (the win) threw two scoreless.

"He just believes he's going to get every single person out," Wells said of Schlittler, per the MLB recap. "I think if you're a hitter, you probably feel that a little bit, too. He's going right after you. He doesn't really care who's in the box."

Seven hits, two homers, and a Wild Card start lined up

Lombard went 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, three RBI, and two runs. Wells went 1-for-2 with a walk, a steal, an RBI, and two runs. Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Caminero went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Díaz went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs. Cody Bellinger was in left when Caminero's fifth-inning single found him.

The Yankees are 92-67. The Rays are 96-63. Thursday did not change who sits where in the East. It did finish Schlittler's regular season and hand New York a 6-4 it had to come from behind to get. The MLB recap said the club is lining him up for the American League Wild Card Series on five days' rest.

Four runs down against a 96-win club is a hole. Wells's homer started the climb. Lombard's eighth-inning fly finished it. Schlittler's 1.95 is the number that will travel into October whether he throws three innings or seven.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put New York at 11 team fantasy points. Lombard had 11 hitting FP. Wells had 10. Seymour had 17 pitching FP in a no-decision. Schlittler had 7. Hanner had 6, listed on the all-board with his role still unknown.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: MLB.com schedule; MLB Gameday wrap; ESPN scoreboard; ESPN box score; AthX Engine daily scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*