The Yankees don’t need a miracle to get past the Rays in the AL Division Series. They need to keep doing the little things that carried them through Boston, lean on a pitching staff that can protect a lead, and avoid handing Tampa anything extra.
That starts with defense. In the Yankees’ series against the Red Sox, there was no sloppy giveaway baseball, no costly miscues, no extra outs gifted away.
That clean play is exactly the standard they have to bring against Tampa, where the margins figure to be just as tight. The Yankees may actually have the edge in that area, especially in the infield.
The Rays, meanwhile, have several defenders who have been negative by the numbers. Taylor Walls, Junior Caminero, Richie Palacios, and Ben Williamson all come in as negative defenders, and Jonanathan Aranda is the only player on that infield with a positive OAA, sitting at 1 at first base. If the Yankees stay sharp and keep the ball in front of them, they can press that advantage.
They also have to keep scoring early. Against Boston, the Yankees struck first in every game and never let the Red Sox settle in. That kind of front-foot baseball matters even more against a team like Tampa, because once the Yankees get ahead, their pitching gives them a real chance to hold it.
There’s recent evidence they can do damage against the Rays’ arms, too. In July, the Yankees knocked Drew Rasmussen around for six earned runs and chased him by the third inning.
Several Yankees have also handled Tampa well this season. Ben Rice owns a 1.320 OPS against the Rays, George Lombard Jr. is at 1.063, Austin Wells hit .816 against them, and if Aaron Judge returns, he carries a .919 OPS against Tampa this year.
The pitching plan is just as important. The Yankees didn’t have to come from behind against Boston because Cam Schlittler and Max Fried kept putting up zeroes.
That kind of stability is the blueprint again. If Gerrit Cole stays away from the home run ball and Carlos Rodon can shake off his playoff issues, the Yankees put themselves in position to leave Tampa down 2-0, or at worst split before heading back to Yankee Stadium at 1-1.
Through the postseason so far, the Yankees haven’t had to play from behind. That’s no accident, and it’s a trend they can keep alive if their starters keep delivering and the defense stays crisp.
All season, it felt like New York needed to be healthy to pass Tampa in the standings. Now they get the chance to finish the job and send the Rays home.
In Other News...
Red Sox Frustration Boils Over After Yankees Expose A Bigger Problem
After a strong regular season run, the frustration around the Red Sox has started to spill into the open, and the Yankees have helped expose why. In Game 2 of the playoff series, Sonny Gray was pulled after 70 pitches even though he felt confident he could keep going, and the decision immediately became part of the postgame conversation around manager Chad Tracy's handling of the moment.
Willson Contreras added to the sense of tension by pushing back on the team's heavy reliance on data and the choices being made around it. When two players are publicly questioning strategy this soon after a disappointing postseason showing, it suggests the issue goes beyond one pitching change and into the broader way the club is being run. [Read more 🡒]
Sonny Grays Wild Card Exit Has Red Sox Fans Debating One Thing
Sonny Grays Wild Card start against the Yankees gave the Red Sox a mixed bag in a game that already carried plenty of October heat. He allowed two runs over 4.2 innings and struck out five, giving Boston enough to stay in the fight while still leaving room for the kind of postgame scrutiny that tends to follow a pitcher in a spotlight game like this.
What really set off the conversation was what viewers kept noticing on Gray between pitches, with repeated touches to his neck drawing immediate attention online. The speculation followed quickly, fueled by the usual modern blend of replay, social media and suspicion, even as no officials have confirmed any wrongdoing and some observers pointed out he has made similar gestures before. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Just Exposed A Red Sox Problem Their Own Stars Couldnt Ignore
Bostons starters did enough to keep the playoff series against the Yankees within reach, but the way those games unraveled told a familiar October story. Sonny Gray and Payton Tolle both gave the Red Sox quality innings, only to be removed early, and once the bullpen took over, the games slipped away and Boston dropped both contests.
Grays own reaction underscored the tension behind the decision-making. He said he wanted to keep going and believed he was still effective even as the lineup came around for a third look, while Willson Contreras suggested the call to pull Gray may have leaned too heavily on data instead of experience. For a Red Sox team that could not afford any cracks in the pitching plan, the choice to go to the bullpen ended up looking like the biggest one of all. [Read more 🡒]