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, Germán began tossing from the bullpen mound, a display that prompted head-scratching. There was even more confusion when Germán 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,” Germán said through an interpreter. “I have some experience coming out of the bullpen; it’s something I’ve done before.”

Despite Germán’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 Germán.

“I was missing locations, especially in their power zone,” Brito said. “That sums it up tonight.”

The Brito-Germán switcheroo reminded some of the Yankees’ attempt to surprise the Rays in Game 2 of the 2020 American League Division Series, when rookie Deivi García was a last-minute opener ahead of veteran J.A. Happ.

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

“Yesterday, [Germán] 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.

Germán 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 Germán from the start early Monday, instead referring him to team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad, who cleared Germán to resume playing catch after 5 p.m. ET.  

“After doing that, I felt really good,” Germán 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 Germán tossed from a bullpen mound around 6:15 p.m. But the turnaround was too quick to reverse the swap and have Germán 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.”