Fans erupt with criticism following Yankees' 3-2 defeat to Rays

Fans reacted as the New York Yankees struggled in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of their series. The two teams had opened the series on Friday with the Yankees securing a solid 3-0 victory.

Continuing the series on Saturday, the Yankees got on the board early with Aaron Judge’s solo homer in the first inning. The Rays responded in the bottom half of the inning with a sacrifice fly from Taylor Walls, tying the score at 1-1.

Austin Wells put the Yankees ahead again in the fifth with a 384-foot solo home run. Rays’ Curtis Mead hit a game-tying RBI single in the eighth inning. Shortly after, José Caballero reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Brandon Lowe to score the go-ahead run following a fielding error by shortstop Anthony Volpe.

The game eventually ended with the Rays securing a bounce-back 3-2 victory after their Friday loss to the Yankees. Several New York fans reacted to their team’s disappointing performance, particularly targeting Anthony Volpe's late-game error.

“Pitching did fine. Offense couldn't do much and Volpe cost us the game with that error. On to the next,” a fan said.

“I’m so over Volpe if you’re going to hit 230 or worse you better be a hell of a defensive player and he’s not,” another fan said.

“Just blow it up already, I can’t watch this team anymore,” another fan said.

Many other fans shared similar sentiments and continued to discuss Volpe.

“Leiter sucked, but when is the conversation about Volpe going to be had? 3rd year in the league and he is not getting better. Career average below .230 and constantly commits errors when we need to get out of an inning,” a comment reads.

“Pathetic loss. Pathetic offense. Pathetic shortstop,” another comment reads.

“That's the 2nd or 3rd time Vople cost the game with a late inning error,” someone wrote.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone discusses Rays' aggressive baserunning

In the eighth inning, the Rays' Chandler Simpson stole both second and third base, while Brandon Lowe also stole second, leading to both players eventually scoring the game-winning runs. The Tampa Bay Rays ended Saturday’s game with six stolen bases against the New York Yankees.

Speaking about the Rays in a post-game interview, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said (starts at 3:27):

"They got some first moves off us. Obviously a double steal there, that adds up. That's who they are when they get especially the right matchups, they're able to do that a little bit. So, try to control that as best we can and overall been doing a good job in that."

With Saturday's performance, the Rays increased their season total to 39 stolen bases in the 2025 campaign. They will face the Yankees again at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.