NEW YORK -- The early explanation was that Domingo Germán had experienced discomfort near his right armpit and could not play catch on Sunday. That prompted the Yankees to scratch the right-hander from Monday night's scheduled outing, summoning rookie Jhony Brito?from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for an emergency start.

Yet once Brito had surrendered his fourth home run of the game, Germ¨¢n began tossing from the bullpen mound, a display that prompted head-scratching. There was even more confusion when Germ¨¢n soon entered the game, tossing five spotless innings of relief in the Yankees¡¯ 5-1 loss to the Rays at Yankee Stadium.

¡°Any opportunity that you get to pitch, at the end of the day, that¡¯s my job,¡± Germ¨¢n said through an interpreter. ¡°I have some experience coming out of the bullpen; it¡¯s something I¡¯ve done before.¡±

Despite Germ¨¢n¡¯s strong relief work, the early deficit spelled defeat on another quiet night for the bats. Jake Bauers hit a second-inning solo homer off Rays starter Tyler Glasnow, who permitted just three hits over seven innings, striking out eight.??

¡°Glasnow can do that to you,¡± Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. ¡°Even some of the good games we¡¯ve had against him over his career, he¡¯s going to punch some tickets. But look, it¡¯s a broken record. We¡¯ve got to be better. It doesn¡¯t get any easier, and we¡¯ve dug ourselves a hole.¡±

The Yankees (55-51) are 3 1/2 games behind the Blue Jays (59-48) for the third American League Wild Card spot and also trail the Red Sox (56-50) and Angels (56-51). Hittable pitches have been scarce for Aaron Judge, who walked three times in his third game back from the injured list.

¡°I¡¯ve got a job to do,¡± Judge said. ¡°When I¡¯m in the box, I¡¯ve got to get on base and drive guys in if they¡¯re out there. That¡¯s all I can focus on.¡±

Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Brito, who also surrendered a solo shot to Wander Franco in the third inning before Isaac Paredes and Josh Lowe slugged back-to-back blasts in the fourth. Saying that his fastball command ¡°wasn¡¯t sharp,¡± Brito permitted five runs on six hits in four innings before yielding to Germ¨¢n.

¡°I was missing locations, especially in their power zone,¡± Brito said. ¡°That sums it up tonight.¡±

The Brito-Germ¨¢n switcheroo reminded some of the Yankees¡¯ attempt to surprise the Rays in Game 2 of the 2020 American League Division Series, when rookie Deivi Garc¨ªa was a last-minute opener ahead of veteran J.A. Happ.

Boone was adamant that strategy was not involved in starting Brito.

¡°Yesterday, [Germ¨¢n] had the discomfort under his armpit that didn¡¯t allow him to do his throwing program, and as the evening went on -- some of the things they went through today; strength and stuff -- he got better,¡± Boone said.

Germ¨¢n said that he first felt the discomfort on Friday at Camden Yards, which he described as ¡°tightness and a lack of extension on the arm.¡± That increased after a bullpen session on Saturday, prompting a conversation with the training staff.

Brito said he received a call late Sunday, instructing him to report to New York. The Yankees scratched Germ¨¢n from the start early Monday, instead referring him to team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad, who cleared Germ¨¢n to resume playing catch after 5 p.m. ET.??

¡°After doing that, I felt really good,¡± Germ¨¢n said. ¡°That¡¯s when I told them, ¡®I think I have a possibility of pitching, so if you need me to pitch tonight, even out of the bullpen, I think I¡¯ll be able to do it.¡¯¡±

Boone said that Germ¨¢n tossed from a bullpen mound around 6:15 p.m. But the turnaround was too quick to reverse the swap and have Germ¨¢n prepare for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch.

¡°That wasn¡¯t in play,¡± Boone said.

In what was said to be a pivotal week that could help determine the front office¡¯s course of action before Tuesday¡¯s 6 p.m. Trade Deadline, the Yankees have dropped three of four games to the Orioles and Rays.

They¡¯ve won just two series since late June, and those came against the Majors¡¯ worst clubs, the Athletics and Royals.

¡°We¡¯re just not getting the job done,¡± Judge said. ¡°We¡¯re getting some pitches to hit. We¡¯re just not capitalizing. We¡¯re not getting guys on base, and you can¡¯t move them over or drive them in. It¡¯s on us. We¡¯ve got to keep showing up, we¡¯ve got to go out there and make adjustments. That¡¯s what it comes down to.¡±