Rays Relief Pitcher Beat Yankees, Aaron Judge With Increased Confidence

Confidence has been key to a Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher beating New York Yankees star Aaron Judge.

May 22, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) reacts after striking out to end the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays are mired in a slump, losing seven out of nine games heading into their matchup with the Detroit Tigers on June 3.

Despite the tough stretch, the Rays still own the best record in the American League entering play. A big reason for that has been their success against the New York Yankees, whom they have beaten in four out of five contests.

In the most recent series against their division rivals, the Rays won Game 1 before Game 2 was postponed because of the weather. It was a 4-2 victory on May 22, one that closer Bryan Baker will remember fondly.

The reason for that is that he retired three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge to earn his 14th save of the season. Saves in May normally don’t stand out too much, but for Baker, it was more than just closing out a game; it was evidence that everything he had been working on was paying off.

Bryan Baker has newfound confidence with Rays

May 19, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Bryan Baker (47) reacts after getting the last out against the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field. | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

He has been adjusting his pitch mix this season, which has yielded incredibly positive results. In the at-bat against Judge, he did something that he wouldn’t have done in the past, throwing two changeups despite it being a right-on-right matchup.

“I don’t think I would have had the wherewithal to do it before, possibly. And then just with the growing confidence in the pitch in general, it’s also not being scared to fail,” Baker said, via Tyler Kepner of The Athletic (subscription required).

After striking out Ryan McMahon to start the inning, Baker issued a walk to Austin Wells. He moved to second bae when Trent Grisham grounded out to shortstop Taylor Walls.

That set the table for Judge. He was stepping to the plate with two outs and one runner on with his team down two runs. It was a big moment, and Baker was able to win the battle, getting him to fly out to center fielder Cedric Mullins.

Bryan Baker continued his dominance today, picking up another save.

In 24.1 IP this season:

16 SV
29 K
2.22 ERA
2.57 FIP
3.38 xFIP

Whiff rates north of 30% on two offerings, generating weak contact, and consistently delivering. He’s been awesome.

pic.twitter.com/gXa3Qeny82

— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) May 31, 2026

Throwing two changeups certainly helped him come out ahead, and it is that change in mindset that has helped him succeed so much this season.

“In years past, I would just be thinking about, ‘Oh, what if I throw this for a ball and get to 2-0 against the best hitter on the planet? I don’t want to be there.’ I can’t think like that. It’s just being confident in your style — and you’ve got to try some different stuff with those good guys,” Baker added.

The new mindset and confidence that Baker possesses have helped take his performance to another level. He is throwing the ball incredibly well for Tampa Bay, converting 16 of his 19 save chances thus far with a 2.13 ERA.