CC Sabathia thinks the Yankees’ postseason path is lining up the way it should.
After New York finished off the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the AL wild-card series on Wednesday, Sept. 30, the former Yankees ace said on the Peacock studio show that Gerrit Cole looks like the obvious choice to start Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday in Tampa Bay.
“Yeah, and then (Carlos) Rodon after that,” Sabathia said. “Now they're set up with two other aces to start the first two games.”
Sabathia’s read came with the benefit of a career spent in the same uniform. He pitched 18 postseason games for the Yankees from 2009-19, going 8-4 with a 3.42 ERA before moving into his current role as a studio analyst with NBC Sports.
Even with that background, the way New York handled Boston this week stood out. The Yankees strung together 26 straight scoreless innings against the Red Sox dating to last year, the most consecutive scoreless innings they have ever thrown in the postseason against one opponent. The run finally ended in Wednesday’s 9-2 win, but by then Boston had already done too little to keep the Yankees from advancing.
The pitching backbone of the series was Cam Schlittler and Max Fried, who combined to give up one run in 12.1 innings across the two wild-card games. Both should be rested enough to be available for a Game 3 start on Oct. 7 if Aaron Boone decides to use them there.
Cole is the name that makes the most sense for Game 1, and Sabathia wouldn’t be alone in expecting it. The right-hander went 10-9 with a 3.61 ERA in 22 regular-season starts after missing all of 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
And Cole has already shown what he can do in October. In 2024, he made five postseason starts for the Yankees and went 1-0 with a 2.17 ERA, helping push the club to the World Series for the first time since 2009. His next playoff start will be his first since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, a game the Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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