Yankees whiff at opportunity to close gap on Rays again as familiar issues persist

ST.PETERSBURG, Fla.

— As it turns out, when the Yankees patched up some holes Monday night for a win over the Rays, they did so with cheap duct tape.Because a night later, the USS Yankee just took on more water as most of the problems that have been plaguing them of late came flooding back.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.

Will Warren put them in an early hole, their lineup continued to strike out at an alarming rate and another baserunning blunder cost them a chance at a rally as the Yankees fell to the Rays 6-4 in the second game of a crucial four-game showdown Tuesday at Tropicana Field.The all-around ugliness sent the Yankees (50-41) to their 10th loss in their last 12 games and allowed the Rays (53-36) to regain a four-game lead atop the AL East.For the second straight night, the Yankees struck out 17 times — 12 of them coming across 16 outs recorded by Rays lefty Ian Seymour — giving them 34 over their last two games, setting a new franchise record for any two-game span (30 was the previous record).Paul Goldschmidt, who is now in the midst of an 0-for-30 skid, and José Caballero combined for eight of the strikeouts.The Yankees actually recorded 11 hits, their most in one game since June 17, but they were weighed down by the strikeouts en masse.After Cam Schlittler’s dominance had helped make up for a still-spotty offensive performance Monday — in addition to a pair of home runs from Caballero — Warren could not do the same, giving up six runs across four innings as the Yankees spent most of the night chasing a deficit.They trailed 2-0 after two innings and Ben Rice briefly put them ahead with a three-run shot in the top of the third.But Warren gave the lead back for good in the bottom of the fourth, capped off by back-to-back home runs from No.9 hitter Hunter Feduccia and Yandy Díaz that opened up a 6-3 Rays lead.The Yankees tried to mou...