The New York Yankees spent nearly 13 hours at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, were nearly no-hit, and then had to watch the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate in the Bronx, posing for pictures on the infield, popping champagne and partying in their visiting clubhouse.
The Rays, for the first time since 2021, are the American League East champions.
They will have a first-round bye while the Yankees, who clinched a postseason berth last week, will be forced to play in a wild-card round.
Certainly, it would have been awkward, much less bizarre for the Yankees to join the celebration – but they weren’t about to break down in tears.
To tell you the truth, there was no reason for the Yankees to even be dejected.
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They knew it was almost inevitable the Rays were going to win the AL East once Aaron Judge returned to the injured list, and then lost three of their next four games to the Minnesota Twins and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Now, they can worry about the real race, the one through October to be the last team standing for the first time since 2009.
“The 162 first games, it doesn’t matter," Yankees infielder/outfielder Jose Caballero said. “Now, the clock starts."
The Yankees won’t have a first-round bye. They’ll be without Judge for at least the AL wild card series against the Boston Red Sox with his moderate calf strain, Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced, and will be awfully rusty even if he’s able to play in the AL Division Series against these same Rays.
Yet, after they retreated to their clubhouse after their day/night doubleheader, they couldn’t help but still feel great about their team.
What they witnessed on the field for 18 innings subtly reminded them why they still may be the team to beat in the American League, with or without Judge.
It's that stellar pitching.
First, it was Carlos Rodon pitching one of his finest games in a Yankee uniform, giving up just three hits without a walk in eight shutout innings in their 2-0 victory in Game 1.
In the nightcap, it was Max Fried (5-4, 2.84 ERA) who was fabulous for the first six innings before the Rays beat him by playing small ball in the seventh inning.
Considering that Cam Schlittler should be the unanimous Cy Young winner by giving up two or fewer earned runs in 22 starts, and former Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole (9-9, 3.63 ERA) was dominant in his last start, against Arizona, no one outside perhaps the Dodgers has a more formidable and powerful starting rotation.
The Yankees have an MLB-best 3.20 ERA, including an MLB-best 3.24 for ERA by the starting rotation.
Sure, the Yankees (90-67) are hardly flawless. The Rays (96-61) are a more complete and well-rounded team, particularly without Judge in the lineup.
But with the Yankees starting pitching, and top-10 MVP candidates Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger providing thump in the middle of the lineup – hitting a double and a home run in the first game – the Yankees still may be the team to beat for the American League pennant.
They reminded the baseball world of that Tuesday, even with the news that Judge is expected to miss their wild-card series against the Red Sox.
Sure, Judge’s injury is a blow, but the Yankees have played the last three months without him due to a fractured rib, and managed to survive, going 45-39.
“Obviously, you always want your best player in the mix," Boone said, “but we understand we’ve got a job to do and an expectation to win and I think that expectation doesn’t change. With or without him, we’re expecting to go into the series and know we can beat anyone when we play our game.”
Yes, especially with the Yankees’ starting rotation peaking. They have been absolutely brilliant, and so dominant that there’s no room in their wild-card round rotation for Rodon, who is yielding a 1.89 ERA in his last seven starts, and hasn’t given up more than three runs in any of his 16 starts this season. He may even be deployed as an invaluable weapon in the bullpen during the Red Sox series, if needed.
Now, if Judge can come back against the Rays, and somehow look more like the three-time MVP instead of the one who hit .174 with 13 strikeouts in 23 at-bats since his return, the Yankees love their chances.
He received a platelet-poor plasma (PPP) injection Monday, and will have limited activities for the next several days, and will know more in a week whether there’s a chance he can be activated if the Yankees advance into the ALDS against Tampa Bay.
“If he’s able to play,’’ Boone said, “then we’ll give him that opportunity.’’
In the meantime, the Yankees will carry on, and leave the light on.
“We have a lot of talent in this locker room, a lot of depth,” Bellinger told reporters Tuesday after winning the first game of the doubleheader. “A lot of different guys stepped up, whether it’s their first year in the big leagues or getting traded [here]. We keep playing winning baseball.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees watch Rays party but NY is still AL's team to beat without Judge | Opinion
