#James Paxton’s great outing ruined in crushing Yankees loss

There was solace in the most crushing loss of the season: The Yankees aren’t scheduled to visit Tampa again this year.

Despite a solid effort from James Paxton and a late three-run lead, the Yankees suffered their third loss in four games against the Rays on Sunday, 4-3, on Michael Perez’s walk-off single off Zack Britton. With their seventh loss in their past eight games at Tropicana Field, the Yankees have now lost five of seven games since their seven-game win streak, allowing the Rays to climb within two games of first place.

The Yankees begin a nine-game homestand Tuesday against the Braves.

Paxton, a week removed from admitting he was “concerned” and hoping “to figure out what’s going on,” shook off two discouraging outings — totaling a combined four innings — to open with six brilliant innings, during which he recorded 11 strikeouts. Using a fastball-heavy attack, the lefty raised his velocity as high as 94 mph — he averaged 91.8 mph on fastballs in his first two starts, down from 95.4 last season — and surrendered just one hit entering the seventh inning.

“I feel like even before the last start, he started to make some improvements, and felt like the work in between last start and today was good,” Aaron Boone said before the game. “I’m confident he will get there and hopefully over time some of that velocity starts to return. I think it’s important that he [and] we realize even when his velocity is down that he still has the weapons and capabilities to pitch effectively.”

Despite leaving nine men on base and going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, the Yankees seemed to have enough offense.

The first run came when Mike Ford was hit with a pitch with the bases loaded in the first inning. The Yankees were gifted another pair of runs in the fifth inning, when Rays center fielder Manuel Margot dropped a deep fly ball from Gio Urshela that would have been the third out.

The luck would end. So would Paxton’s dominance.

Following a leadoff double by Jose Martinez in the seventh, Tampa Bay cut the deficit to one with Mike Brosseau’s two-run bomb to left. One pitch later, the Yankees lead was erased by Brandon Lowe’s homer to center.

As Paxton exited the mound with a no-decision — having lowered his ERA from 13.50 to 7.84 — the lefty appeared to hear taunts from the Rays bench, before violently slamming his glove in the Yankees dugout. In 6 ¹/₃ innings, Paxton allowed three runs, four hits and one walk.

Jonathan Holder finished the seventh, then escaped the eighth. After giving up a pinch-hit single to Ji-Man Choi and one-out double to Austin Meadows, Holder intentionally walked Martinez to load the bases, allowing him to induce an inning-ending double play against Hunter Renfroe.

With Britton taking over in the ninth, Brosseau ripped a leadoff double, but he was thrown out at third on a grounder to Gleyber Torres. But a wild pitch quickly put Lowe at second. Three batters later, Perez sent the Yankees back home.