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2018 ALDS Game Three: Red Sox at Yankees

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Welcome to the best-of-three ALDS. The Yankees and Red Sox split the first two games of the series at Fenway Park — a good outcome for the Yankees, for sure — and now the series shifts to the Bronx for Game Three. It’s very simple: Win two games at home and set up an ALCS rematch against the obnoxiously good Astros.

Since the start of last postseason the Yankees are a perfect 7-0 in Yankee Stadium in the postseason and have outscored their opponents 42-14. 42-14! They’re built for their home ballpark. No doubt. The Yankee Stadium crowd is also the tenth man. The crowd’s been dynamite the last two postseasons and I think it’ll be even louder tonight.

“I think it’s going to be amazing. I really do,” said Aaron Boone yesterday about tonight’s crowd. “I think the connection that our fan base and our fans now have with our players is a special one … I thought the atmosphere against the A’s was special. I think there’s a potential that it could be even more so tomorrow night.”

The Yankees will start Luis Severino tonight and he pitched well in the Wild Card Game, though he only got through four innings plus two batters. Some more length would be nice tonight, but, as far as I’m concerned, the important thing is quality of the innings, not the quantity of the innings. Especially with the bullpen the Yankees have.

If you’re into projections and probabilities and all that, ZiPS has the Yankees as the slight favorite to win the series (53.6% vs. 46.4%) and a slighter favorite to win tonight (51.3% vs. 48.7%). Both these teams are so good, man. It’s hard for me to look at this series as anything other than a coin flip. The lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Andrew McCutchen
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. 1B Luke Voit
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. 2B Gleyber Torres
9. CF Brett Gardner

RHP Luis Severino

Boston Red Sox
1. RF Mookie Betts
2. LF Andrew Benintendi
3. DH J.D. Martinez
4. SS Xander Bogaerts
5. 3B Rafael Devers
6. 1B Steve Pearce
7. 2B Brock Holt
8. C Christian Vazquez
9. CF Jackie Bradley Jr.

RHP Nathan Eovaldi

It is cloudy and cool in New York tonight. Has been all day. Not the best baseball weather, but there’s no heavy rain in the forecast, and that’s all that matters. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40pm ET and you can watch on TBS and TBS.com. Enjoy the game.

Injury Update: Aaron Hicks (hamstring) is doing “considerably” better and is available tonight. Aaron Boone said he wanted to give Hicks one more day just because hamstrings are tricky.

2018 ALDS Game Two: Yankees at Red Sox

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If it were May or June or July, it would be easy to chalk up last night’s loss as just one of those games. The starting pitcher had a bad night, the offense had chances but didn’t cash in, blah blah blah. Run of the mill loss. But, because it is October, that one really stings. Despite the early 5-0 deficit, that game was very winnable. The middle of the Red Sox bullpen did everything they could to give that game away and the Yankees said nah, we’re good.

So now the Yankees are down one game to none in the best-of-five ALDS. Fun fact: This is the eighth time the Yankees have lost Game One of the ALDS. They came back to win six of the previous seven series, including last year. The one exception is the 2007 ALDS against the Indians. The midge series. The Yankees, including this very group of players, know what it takes to erase a one game deficit in the best-of-five series. They did it last year. They have to do it again this year.

On the mound tonight will be Masahiro Tanaka, who had a 7.58 ERA in four starts and 19 innings against the Red Sox during the regular season. They hit .345/.382/.631 against him. And you know what that means right now? It means nothing. The same way J.A. Happ’s regular season 1.99 ERA against Red Sox meant nothing last night. If Tanaka’s on, and he dominant any lineup. Hopefully he’s on tonight. Here are the starting lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Andrew McCutchen
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. 1B Luke Voit
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. C Gary Sanchez
6. SS Didi Gregorius
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. 2B Gleyber Torres
9. CF Brett Gardner

RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Boston Red Sox
1. RF Mookie Betts
2. LF Andrew Benintendi
3. DH J.D. Martinez
4. SS Xander Bogaerts
5. 1B Mitch Moreland
6. 3B Eduardo Nunez
7. 2B Ian Kinsler
8. C Sandy Leon
9. CF Jackie Bradley Jr.

LHP David Price

Another cool and clear night in Boston. Good weather these first two games. First pitch is scheduled for 8:15pm ET (ugh) and you can watch on TBS and TBS.com. Enjoy the game, everyone.

Injury Update: Aaron Hicks (hamstring) went for an MRI this morning and it came back clean. There’s no strain. He still has some tightness but is available tonight. Thank goodness. Hopefully he’ll be back in the starting lineup for Game Three on Monday.

2018 ALDS Game One: Yankees at Red Sox

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The AL East race has extended into the postseason. The 162-game regular season wasn’t enough to decide who gets to advance. Tonight, the Yankees and Red Sox open the best-of-five ALDS at Fenway Park. From a fan’s perspective, this will be the best and worst series ever. The highs and lows can be extreme.

Three times previously the Yankees and Red Sox have met in the postseason. The Yankees won the 1999 ALCS in five games and the 2003 ALCS in seven games. I reckon we’ll see a certain home run highlight from that series a few times these next few days. The 2004 ALCS was mysteriously canceled after Game Three. Still unexplained. In all seriousness, it’s been a very long time since these clubs met in October. New faces but the same rivalry.

Boston won the season series 10-9 with a +14 run differential. Weirdly, there were a lot of blowouts. Seven of those 19 games were decided by at least seven runs. Only four were decided by two or fewer runs. I feel like, right now, the Yankees have their strongest roster of the year. Guys are healthy and some midseason pickups have paid huge dividends. What happened from April through September isn’t all that predictive in a short postseason series when teams match up this evenly.

If you care about such things, ZiPS has the Yankees with a slightly higher probability of winning the ALDS than the Red Sox (52.4% vs. 47.6%). A coin flip series. I’m not sure any outcome in any number of games would surprise me. Here are 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. RF Mookie Betts
2. LF Andrew Benintendi
3. 1B Steve Pearce
4. DH J.D. Martinez
5. SS Xander Bogaerts
6. 3B Eduardo Nunez
7. 2B Ian Kinsler
8. C Sandy Leon
9. CF Jackie Bradley Jr.

LHP Chris Sale

It is a crystal clear night in Boston and chilly. Postseason weather. Tonight’s game will begin at 7:32pm ET and you can watch on TBS and TBS.com. Enjoy the game, folks.

Rotation Update: As expected, Luis Severino will start Game Three and CC Sabathia will start Game Four (if necessary), Aaron Boone announced. Severino will be on normal rest in Game Three following his Wild Card Game start. Sabathia is available in relief tonight, probably in an emergency only.

Roster Notes: Tyler Wade, Luis Cessa, and Kyle Higashioka were all sent to Tampa to stay sharp in case they have to be added to the roster at some point. Sonny Gray is doing the same but is in New York. I believe Greg Bird and Ronald Torreyes are with the Yankees in Boston. Here’s the ALDS roster.

2018 AL Wild Card Game: Athletics at Yankees

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For the first time in baseball history, a 100-win team is playing in a Wild Card Game. MLB sees that as a feature, not a bug. Tonight, the 100-62 Yankees take on the 97-65 Athletics for the right to face the 108-54 Red Sox. This is Game 7 without the hassle of Games 1-6. Winner advances, loser goes home.

The Yankees have done the Wild Card Game thing before. A few too many times for my liking, in fact. The Yankees lost the 2015 Wild Card Game to the Astros and they beat the Twins in the 2017 Wild Card Game. Maybe mix in a division title one of these years? Could be cool. Anyway, the nerves have been building throughout the day. At this point, I’m just ready to get this thing started. Let’s go.

If nothing else, the Yankees go into tonight’s winner-take-all game playing well. They went 9-4 in their final 13 regular season games and scored 88 runs in those 13 games. Geez. Almost seven runs per game, on average. The Athletics went 7-7 in their final 14 regular season games. A little stumble to the finish. Doesn’t make me feel any better about tonight though. A few quick notes before the game:

  • Yankee Stadium joins PNC Park as the only ballparks to host three Wild Card Games. The 2013-15 NL Wild Card Games were in Pittsburgh. The 2015, 2017, and 2018 AL games were in the Bronx.
  • Luis Severino will become the third pitcher (and first right-hander) to start two Wild Card Games, joining Jon Lester (2014, 2018) and Madison Bumgarner (2014, 2016). Two Wild Card Game starts for Bumgarner, two complete-game shutouts. What a beast.
  • Andrew McCutchen will become the first player to play in four Wild Card Games. He played in those 2013-15 games with the Pirates. Neil Walker can also play in his fourth Wild Card Game if he comes off the bench. He played in those 2013-15 games with the Pirates as well.
  • The A’s ranked dead last with a .262 wOBA against 95+ mph fastballs this season. That suggests Severino and the bullpen are a good matchup for Oakland’s lineup. We’ll see.

An entire 162-game season hangs in the balance tonight. The Yankees and Athletics had the third and fourth best records in baseball this season, respectively, and one of them is going home tonight. Hardly seems fair, but, if you don’t like it, win more ballgames. Here are tonight’s starting 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

RHP Luis Severino

Oakland Athletics
1. LF Nick Martini
2. 3B Matt Chapman
3. 2B Jed Lowrie
4. DH Khris Davis
5. 1B Matt Olson
6. RF Stephen Piscotty
7. CF Ramon Laureano
8. SS Marcus Semien
9. C Jonathan Lucroy

RHP Liam Hendriks

Pretty great night for a ballgame in the Bronx. It is mostly clear and cool with a nice breeze. Good timing for this game. It rained pretty hard last night and it’s supposed to rain tomorrow night too. First pitch is scheduled for 8:08pm ET — the baseline introductions will begin around 7:40pm ET, though I’m not sure if they’ll be shown on television — and you can watch on TBS. You can also stream the game on TBS.com. Enjoy the game, folks. Have your barf bag ready.

Closer Update: Aroldis Chapman will be the closer tonight, according to Aaron Boone. I had a feeling they wanted him to be the guy.

Game 162: The End of the Regular Season

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(Presswire)

The long journey that is the regular season comes to an end today. The Yankees have already clinched everything they can clinch. We know they’ll play the Athletics at Yankee Stadium in the AL Wild Card Game on Wednesday, and, should they advance, they’ll be the road team in the ALDS and ALCS, and the home team in the World Series no matter who they play. Today means nothing in the standings.

Furthermore, the Yankees have already set a new single-season home run record, and they’ve already won their 100th game, which are two nice milestones. Know what’s on the line today? The season series against the Red Sox. The two teams have split their 18 games this season. A win today means the Yankees will have at least .500 record against every team they’ve played this season. It also means the Red Sox will have lost the season series to the A’s, Astros, Indians, and Yankees. That should go over well on the sports media circuit in Boston. Here are the final lineups of the regular season:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. DH Miguel Andujar
5. 1B Luke Voit
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. 2B Gleyber Torres
8. 3B Neil Walker
9. SS Adeiny Hechavarria

RHP Luis Cessa

Boston Red Sox
1. RF Mookie Betts
2. LF Brock Holt
3. DH J.D. Martinez
4. SS Xander Bogaerts
5. 1B Mitch Moreland
6. 3B Eduardo Nunez
7. 2B Ian Kinsler
8. C Sandy Leon
9. CF Jackie Bradley Jr.

RHP Rick Porcello

It is cool and sunny in Boston today. Great afternoon to spend at the ballpark. Today’s regular season finale begins at 3:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and TBS out-of-market. Enjoy the stress-free game. The real fun begins Wednesday.

Injury Updates: The regulars who are not in today’s starting lineup are all fine. Just a rest day. That includes Didi Gregorius, who’s played a game and a half since his wrist injury. Giancarlo Stanton was originally in today’s lineup before the Yankees decided to give him the full day off rather than only the late innings off.

Rotation Update: The Yankees still have not selected a starter for the Wild Card Game. Or at least they haven’t announced a starter, I should say. They may’ve made a decision internally already. Today will be a true bullpen game. Luis Severino will not pitch at all today.

Game 161: Looking for No. 100 and No. 265

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(Presswire)

Homefield advantage in the Wild Card Game has been clinched. The Yankees took care of business last night and they’ve clinched everything they can clinch. They’ll be the home team in the Wild Card Game, the road team in the ALDS and ALCS, and the home team in the World Series. It’s all been clinched.

That means the Yankees have nothing to play for this weekend. These last two games are meaningless. They won’t change anything with regards to the postseason. That said, the Yankees still have two things to accomplish this weekend:

  • Win their 100th game of the season. They’re 99-61 at the moment.
  • Hit their 265th home run to set a new single-season record. They’re sitting on 264.

Two milestones. A win total in the 100s always looks better than a win total in the 90s, and, as for the home run record, that’s just cool. The Yankees are tied with the 1997 Mariners for the most homers in history and they did that without anyone having a monster season. They’ve done it with power spread out up and down the lineup. Pretty cool.

I know it’s Yankees vs. Red Sox and these games are always intense, but today’s game and tomorrow’s game are meaningless. Enjoy the stress-free baseball before the postseason begins Wednesday. Here are today’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Andrew McCutchen
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. 3B Miguel Andujar
7. 1B Greg Bird
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Domingo German

Boston Red Sox
1. LF Andrew Benintendi
2. SS Brock Holt
3. DH J.D. Martinez
4. 3B Rafael Devers
5. 1B Mitch Moreland
6. 2B Ian Kinsler
7. CF Jackie Bradley Jr.
8. RF Blake Swihart
9. C Christian Vazquez

RHP Nathan Eovaldi

The internet tells me it is a spectacular afternoon in Boston. Sunny with temperatures in the low 70s and a nice breeze. Good day for a meaningless ballgame. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm ET and FOX will have the broadcast. FOX and FOX alone. Guessing they picked up this game back when it looked like it still might mean something. 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. Well, whatever. Enjoy the game.

Rotation Updates: So there’s been a change in this weekend’s pitching plans now that the Yankees have clinched homefield advantage in the Wild Card Game. First, Lance Lynn will pitch out of the bullpen today rather than make the start as scheduled. The Yankees are preparing him for a potential bullpen role in the postseason. Secondly, Luis Severino will not start tomorrow. He could pitch out of the bullpen and make a tune-up appearance at some point instead. Aaron Boone said the Yankees will discuss the Wild Card Game starter in earnest later today. Pulling Severino from tomorrow’s start keeps him in play for the Wild Card Game start.

Game 160: The Return of Didi & Hicks

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(Presswire)

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.