TB to win +111+1.11UTLDR: The Rays won 5-2 mostly for our reasons: Peralta held New York to 1 run, Palacios drove in 2 in the 5th, and they won at home. The 4 Yankees errors, which we never predicted, gave Tampa Bay 3 unearned runs.
Point
- The crowd
Game 1 sold out at 40,542 with the upper deck open, the Trop's biggest crowd since 2010, and Monday is the same room.
Didn't matterGame 2 attendance not reported; nothing ties the crowd to the result - Home split
The Rays went 55-26 at Tropicana Field and 43-38 away, so Game 2 is on the half of their schedule that won the division.
Helped usRays won 5-2 at Tropicana Field to lead 2-0 - Peralta at the Trop
Peralta closed with a 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP over his last 4 home starts, in the park he pitches in Monday.
Helped usPeralta: 4⅔ innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 walk - Bottom of the order
Richie Palacios (.981 OPS, 5 HR) and Victor Mesa Jr. (.355) had big Septembers, which gives the Rays length down to the 8 spot.
Helped usPalacios' 2-run single made it 5-1; Mesa walked, stole
Counterpoint
- Schlittler on the road
Schlittler led MLB with a 1.16 ERA across 17 road starts, so a hostile building is where he has been at his best.
Helped usChased after 4⅓ innings, 3 runs, errors behind him - Peralta vs New York
Peralta walked 6 Yankees in 5 innings as a Met this season, and a lineup that got 1 hit needs exactly that kind of help.
Helped usPeralta walked just 1; Yankees managed only 4 hits
Neutral
- Weather
No weather — indoors at Tropicana Field.
Didn't matterIndoors at Tropicana Field, as expected - Schedule
Both clubs had Sunday off, and either way the series moves to Yankee Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday, so neither side gets a rest edge.
Didn't matterBoth clubs rested; no visible rest edge either way