The Return of RISPfail Dooms Yankees in Tampa Bay

File this one under, "Well, the streak had to end sometime, but did it have to end this way?"

The Yankees had gone 8-2 against the Tampa Bay Rays this season, but it was not to be last night. CC Sabathia started, and the Big Fella gave us 7 strong innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5.

The problem was, the Yankees didn't support him with enough runs. DJ LeMahieu led off the game with a single, but was caught stealing 2nd base. Brett Gardner hit a home run in the 2nd inning, but no one was on base. Mike Tauchman doubled with 1 out in the 3rd, but was stranded on 3rd as the inning ended. Aaron Hicks led off the 4th with a double, but got no closer.

Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Counter-Cliche Alert: To every rule, there are exceptions. Gleyber Torres drew a walk to lead off the 5th, but Gio Urshela popped up. Tauchman singled, and LeMahieu walked to load the bases. But Aaron Judge flied out and Aaron Hicks grounded out, ruining a great opportunity.

Gardner walked with 2 out in the 6th, but was stranded on 1st. The Yankees had another good opportunity in the 7th, as Urshela led off with a single, and Tauchman walked. But LeMahieu grounded into a double play, leaving Urshela at 3rd. Judge walked, and then Hicks singled Urshela home. Gary Sanchez walked to load the bases, but Edwin Encarnacion flew out. This should have been a big inning, but it ended just 2-1 Yankees.

CC gave the lead back by allowing a home run to Nate Lowe in the bottom of the 7th, making it 3-2 Rays. Gardner led off the top of the 8th with a walk, but was stranded on 1st. Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless bottom of the 8th. Hicks hit a home run in the top of the 9th, but that only tied the game. For the 3rd straight game, the Yankees were counting on winning in extra innings.

Knowing he had gone to Aroldis Chapman in back-to-back games, Aaron Boone decided to give him the day off, and turned to Chad Green. At first, this looked like a good decision, as he got Kevin Kiermaier to ground out and struck Willy Adames out. Then he served a walkoff homer up to former Met catcher Travis d'Arnaud.

Rays 4, Yankees 3. WP: Colin Poche (2-1). No save. LP: Green (2-3).

Three straight games, the Rays scored 4 runs on the Yankees. The 1st 2 times, the Yankees got 8. This time, only 3.

Brian Cashman's plan to outscore teams every time was always flawed. This time, rather than blaming Green, I say we chalk it up to ye old Yankee RISPfail.

With the win, the Rays close to within 7 1/2 games of the Yankees in the American League Eastern Division, albeit 9 games in the all-important loss column. The Boston Red Sox are about to finish off the Tigers after a rain delay in Detroit, so they will close to within 10 games.

The Yanks-Rays series concludes this afternoon. James Paxton starts against former Houston Astro pain in the ass Charlie Morton. Then comes the All-Star Break, with 5 Yankees going to the Game: Catcher Gary Sanchez, 2nd baseman DJ LeMahieu, shortstop Gleyber Torres, and pitchers Masahiro Tanaka and Aroldis Chapman.

Personally, I don't care that 5 Yankees could play in the All-Star Game. I only care whether 25 Yankees are playing in the World Series.

Regular-season games resume the following Friday, as the Yankees begin a homestand by playing those pesky Toronto Blue Jays.