Yankees get cute and squander Game 2

 The Yankees dropped game 2 to the Rays 7-5 and the ALDS is now locked at 1-1. 

Giancarlo Stanton continues to be red hot as he belted two more home runs one bigger than the other but it wasn’t enough for the Yankees. His hot hitting is a very good sign for things to come.

The Yankees went with Deivi Garcia as the starter but pulled him after 1 inning for JA Happ. The plan didn’t make much sense to  anyone except Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone. The move was done to have the Rays thrown off and maybe shuffle the lineup but they didn’t do that. They stood their ground and it worked. Happ went 2.2 innings giving up 4 runs. 

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I know everyone always wants to try and reinvent baseball these days and the opener and bullpen games is the new wave. The truth is they haven’t worked for anyone in the playoffs. The teams that have consistently done this haven’t won. The Rays have done it in the past successfully but they have better pieces to do it with. The Yankees didn’t have to do this. They could have went with Masahiro Tanaka or they could have just started Happ or Garcia from the beginning. When you watch Happ on the postgame you can tell he didn’t really buy into the plan. If you have a philosophy that the players don’t buy into then it’s not the philosophy to use. 

The Yankees tried to outsmart the Rays, they tried to be the smartest person in the room and in the end they only outsmarted themselves. If they lose this series everyone will comeback to game 2 and rightfully so. 

The Bronx Bombers Take Slam Diego

San Diego has quickly become the home of the grand slam in 2020 and Giancarlo Stanton wanted to feel comfortable in his new digs. Stanton and the Yankees steam rolled the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the American League Division Series 9-3 on Monday night. The Yankees offense and pitching staff remained hot after a sweep of the Wild Card Series in Cleveland. 

The Yankee offense started the scoring right out of the gate with an Aaron Hicks RBI sacrifice fly to put the Yankees up 1-0. Gerrit Cole "toed the slab" for the Yankees and only had two blemishes. Randy Arozarena and Cole's arch-nemesis, Ji-Man Choi, homered off of Cole to account for all three of Tampa Bay's runs. Cole was not at the top of his game, but he still gave the Yankees 6 strong innings and he struck out 8 Rays. 

The Yankee offense was lead by the long ball as Clint Frazier, Kyle Higashioka, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton all homered. The blast by Stanton was the proverbial dagger as his ninth inning grand slam turned a 2 run game into a 6 run game with one swing. The Yankees saw contributions come from nearly all spots in the lineup and that is a great sign for the future games. The Yankees did end up using Chad Green and Zack Britton in Game 1, but they avoided using closer Aroldis Chapman which could be a factor as the series progresses. 

Game 2 will see a matchup of two young starters, which came as a shock to some. The Rays starter, Tyler Glasnow, was not the shocking selection as he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball during his tenure in Tampa Bay. Aaron Boone's decision to start 21 year old Deivi Garcia instead of Masahiro Tanaka raised some eyebrows. The Yankees essentially set their rotation to put Tanaka in a situation to clinch the series or to put the team up 2-1 in the series. Before Game 1 when the decision was announced, Tanaka could have been on the mound in Game 3 for a possible elimination game, but a Game 1 Yankee win took that out of the realm of possibility. 

The matchup will see two starters who love their curveballs. Glasnow throws his curveball 34.8% of the time, while Garcia throws his 14.5% of the time. Glasnow and Garcia not only differ in size as Glasnow towers over the diminutive Deivi Garcia, but the two also differ in what they throw. Glasnow has success with only 3 pitches, an elite 4 seam fastball, a curveball, and a changeup. Garcia also has a 4 seamer, changeup, and a curveball, but he also offers a slider. The Yankees offense has seemingly found a way to lay off the elite curveballs of Shane Bieber, Carlos Carrasco, and Blake Snell so far this postseason. If the Yankees can continue this approach, they may be able to chase the 6'8 starter from the game before he reaches his 5 inning average.

Game 2 is important, but maybe not as important had the Yankees lost Game 1. This should help Garcia relax and feel less pressure in his postseason debut. The Yankees will have to continue to work the pitch count of Glasnow just as they have done to the previous three pitchers they have faced. If the Yankees can get into the Rays pen for a second consecutive day, it could cause Tampa to rely heavily on starter Charlie Morton in Game 3. The Yankees seemed focused and non-sentimental in their postgame press conferences after a tone setting Game 1 victory. Game 2 should be another classic battle of two AL East rivals. 

Statistics courtesy of BaseballSavant.com

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Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez Come up Big for Yankees

 

Everyone will remember last night as the Gio Urshela game or the DJ LeMahieu game winning hit but some polarizing Yankees came up huge. 

Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez are always guaranteed to cause some debates on Yankee Twitter but last night their was no debate about how big they came up. Without their contributions the Yankees are gearing up for a game 3 winner take all with J.A. Happ on the mound. No one wanted the stress of another game tonight in rainy Cleveland. 

Let’s start with Giancarlo Stanton who was the DH and number 5 hitter last night. In game 1 Stanton had an ugly start to the postseason with two punch outs but launched a 9th inning homer to put the Yankees up 12-2. It wasn’t big in terms of the scoreboard but it seemed to loosen Stanton up. Alex Rodriguez said on the broadcast that it was a big hit for Stanton and they hopefully it could loosen him up. 

That seemed to be the case in game 2. After going down 4-0 right away Stanton delivered with a long home run. What he did in his next few at bats was maybe even more impressive. Stanton drew 2 walks laying off some tough pitches and passing the baton along to the next hitter. It was a bad day for Giancarlo Haters and a good day for the Yankees. 

https://twitter.com/adamschein/status/1311470188014055425?s=21

Gary Sanchez has been crushed for his offense and defense this season and maybe some of it has been warranted. Last night he shoved that aside and came up big. Yes he had a bad pass ball in the 9th but he also made a great stop in the 6th. Sanchez came up with a big two run go ahead home run. He also had a sac fly in the 9th to tie things up off Brad Hand who is known for tough breaking balls. 

With Gary Sanchez and Giancarlo Stanton clicking the lineup is as deep as ever. These are major developments for the Yankees and they need it to continue to beat the Rays. 

A Clean Sweep in Cleveland! Now a Trip to San Diego Awaits!

The Yankees rocked and rolled their way through Cleveland in a 2 game sweep in the American League Wild Card Series. A back and forth affair was one of the best postseason games we have ever seen so far in 2020. Rain, home runs, and lead changes defined Game 2, but most importantly, the Yankees came out as winners. 

The game started with not one, but two rain delays. First pitch was pushed back 50 minutes after there was not a drop of rain in Cleveland. As the first inning progressed, so did the rain. Masahiro Tanaka gave up one run before the delay and finished the inning surrendering four earned runs. Giancarlo Stanton was able to ignite the Yankee offense with a solo homer in the 2nd. The Yankees would take the lead on a Gio Urshela grand slam off of Cleveland's top relief pitcher, James Karinchak. The Yankees would tack on another run on a Stanton sac fly. Jose Ramirez responded with a two RBI double in the 5th. The Yankees released the Kraken as Gary Sanchez hit a two run home run to give the Yankees an 8-6 lead. This lead did not last long as Jordan Luplow tied the game in the 7th and Cesar Hernandez hit a go ahead RBI single in the 8th. In the ninth, the Yankees mounted a rally on walks and singles that allowed Gary Sanchez to tie the game and DJ LeMahieu to hit the game winning single. Aroldis Chapman picked up the win as he closed out the game and the series. The Yankees 10-9 win books them a trip to San Diego to face the Tampa Bay Rays.

This game can be defined as a total team effort, but Gio Urshela was the star tonight. Urshela was dominant with the bat and the glove against his former team on Wednesday night. Gio received the Yankees belt for his efforts and he was more than deserving of the honor. The lineup top to bottom had quality at bats which helped get them into advantageous counts to do damage. The Yankees looked extremely prepared to face a talented Cleveland pitching staff. This will have to continue against the Rays and their stable of arms that throw 98 mph. 

The rematch of the heated season series vs the Tampa Bay Rays will be must watch TV. Game 1 sees Gerrit Cole and Blake Snell square off in Petco Park. The Yankees will have the ability to clean the slate vs the Rays as they lost the season series eight games to two. The heated rivalry will provide non-stop entertainment but it is crucial for the Yankees to keep their cool, focus, and approach if they want to book a second consecutive ticket in the American League Championship Series. 

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