The Yankees lost Game 1 of the Division Series. They lost Game 2 by being unable to catch. Tampa Bay won 5-2 on Tuesday night, and the Rays' main contribution to the evening was standing there while it happened.

Three errors in the first inning. Four for the game. ESPN called it a shocking display of postseason baseball, which is a polite phrase for a ballclub handing out gifts to a team that was already ahead in the series. A first inning like that has a sound. It is a stadium full of people going quiet one fielding mistake at a time.

Consider the arithmetic of the series. In Game 2 the Yankees scored twice and defended like people meeting the infield for the first time. The Rays have had to be good for one of those nights. For the other they had to show up.

Now the Yankees are 0-2 in a best-of-five, which means every remaining game is a funeral if they lose it. The Rays come to New York for Game 3 on Thursday, and Yahoo's headline hands Max Fried the job of saving the season. That is a lot to put on one left arm.

Fried can throw a clean game. Whether the man behind him can field one is the part nobody has been able to promise since Tuesday.