The final series of the regular season has arrived. The Yankees are in Fenway Park for three games this weekend with a lot less on the line than I think we all were hoping a few weeks ago. The Red Sox have already clinched the best record in baseball. The Yankees have a magic number of one for homefield advantage in the Wild Card Game. One win or one Athletics loss these next three days clinches it.
Once the Yankees clinch the top wildcard spot — and seriously, get this done ASAP fellas — their remaining regular season games will become truly meaningless. Consider:
- Since they’re a wildcard team, the Yankees can’t have homefield advantage in the ALDS or ALCS.
- The Yankees have already clinched a better record than every National League team, so they’ll have homefield advantage in the World Series, should they make it that far.
Homefield advantage in the Wild Card Game is the only thing still on the line. That makes for a weird dynamic this weekend. You know the Red Sox want to make life miserable for the Yankees. They want the Yankees to have to fly to Oakland for the Wild Card Game, and if they can make the Yankees sweat it out for a day or two, they will.
At the same time, the Red Sox are most concerned with resting their players and putting themselves in the best position going into the postseason. Also, they’re not going to reveal all their secrets. Their pitchers won’t attack the Yankees this weekend the same way they would in the postseason, and vice versa. These two teams could meet in the ALDS beginning one week from today. Both sides want to maintain an element of surprise.
The A’s are in Anaheim this weekend and the Yankees shouldn’t count on the Angels. The Yankees have to play to win against the Red Sox while also making sure everyone gets the rest they need, making sure the bullpen is prepared for the Wild Card Game, and making sure they don’t show the Red Sox too much in case they meet in the ALDS. The Yankees still have something on the line here. These aren’t throw away games yet.
Anyway, Didi Gregorius and Aaron Hicks are back! That’s a pretty big deal. Gregorius tore cartilage in his wrist last weekend and Hicks is nursing a tight hamstring. They sat out the Rays series (Hicks played four innings of the first game) and received treatment, and now they’ve been cleared to return to game action. That’s huge. Hopefully both get back to their pre-injury form quickly. Tonight’s lineups:
New York Yankees
1. LF Andrew McCutchen
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. 1B Luke Voit
6. SS Didi Gregorius
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. C Gary Sanchez
9. 2B Gleyber Torres
LHP J.A. Happ
Boston Red Sox
1. CF Mookie Betts
2. LF Andrew Benintendi
3. RF J.D. Martinez
4. SS Xander Bogaerts
5. 1B Steve Pearce
6. 3B Rafael Devers
7. DH Eduardo Nunez
8. 2B Ian Kinsler
9. C Blake Swihart
LHP Brian Johnson
It is a cloudy and cool evening in Boston. Postseason weather for sure. Tonight’s game will begin at 7:10pm ET and you can watch on WPIX locally — this is the last WPIX broadcast of the season! — and ESPN nationally. Also, MLB.tv is free this weekend. Just sign up for a (free) MLB.com account and you can watch any game. Blackout restrictions still apply though. Bummer. Enjoy the game folks.
Rotation Update: Still no announcement about the Wild Card Game starter and it might not come until Sunday, Aaron Boone said. Happ lines up to start the game on normal rest and he will not be on a pitch limit tonight in preparation for the Wild Card Game. The Yankees are focusing on homefield advantage right now. Masahiro Tanaka is lined up to start the Wild Card Game with two extra days of rest at the moment, so the Yankees have options.