The regular season is coming to a close, and there’s just two series left in the regular season for the Yankees to play — the Rays and the Orioles are coming into town for four and three games, respectively. There’s still technically something to play for as the Yankees are, for the moment, alive in the AL East race, but they’d need to effectively run the table and still get some help from the Phillies against Tampa to win the division. They’ll play for it as long as it’s available, but at some point
it’s fair to assume that the Rays will be popping champagne sooner or later.
With that being said, the Yankees will be playing in the postseason one way or another, and they’ve got plenty to fine tune before they face their first opponent. So what should we keep our eyes on as they play out these final seven games, and what will the team be looking out for?
New York has their rotation lined up for this Rays series, with all of their potential playoff starters getting a game: Carlos Rodon and Max Fried will handle the doubleheader, Gerrit Cole is being tasked with Wednesday’s game, and Cam Schlittler will toe the slab in the series finale. With Will Warren probably starting the opening game of the Baltimore series, that leaves only two more games to cover before the postseason rotation needs to be lined up for next Tuesday. That means that this will be Cole and Schlittler’s final tune up before the regular season ends, and likely Fried’s as well considering he’d have too quick a turnaround for Game 2 of the Wild Card Round where he’s expected to slot in. For Cole this is the chance to make sure he’s got the gopher ball under control and instill confidence that the home runs won’t be flying out of the park in a potential elimination game, while for Schlittler this is the final act of a Cy Young campaign and he’ll be looking to end it on a high note. In Fried’s case, he threw 88 pitches in his previous outing which was the most he’s tossed since his most recent IL stint, and this last go around gives him the chance to push it beyond 90 pitches assuming he can get in a rhythm.
Turning our attention over to the lineup, this is make or break time for some of the bats looking to be penciled in for Game 1. The Yankees’ likely opponent in the Wild Card Round is Boston, and their lefty-heavy rotation is going to stress-test their lineup. The team’s best hitter since the Deadline has been their big get in Luis Garcia Jr., but he’s a platoon bat that hasn’t seen the field much against lefties. Aaron Boone could use this final week to look for the right spots where Garcia could pinch-hit in the games where he doesn’t start, because it’ll be hard to go a full nine innings without him having some kind of impact on the game if the Yankees want to go far.
As for the bullpen, the question is simple: who can be trusted outside of the big three? Paul Blackburn, Brent Headrick, and David Bednar are going to get the call when the chips are down in a critical inning, but there will undoubtedly be some frames that need to get handled by someone other than them or the starter. The team’s anticipated cavalry hasn’t panned out the way they hoped, with Ryan Weathers not expected back before the postseason putting him in a Nestor Cortes-esque state of limbo and Clarke Schmidt had a bit of a scare with his biceps prompting the team to not use him in their most recent series with Arizona. Luis Gil finally got some looks in non-mop up duty and handled them well, but does he have the inside track to being used in the postseason over someone like John Schreiber who has pitched well in pinstripes up until his most recent outing? Both will be under the microscope in this final week.
While we’ve got a super busy day with the doubleheader on deck, we’ve still got some things prepared to start your morning off. Jake handles the Rivalry Roundup with most of the league resting up letting the O’s and Jays take center stage, and then Michael delivers the weekly minor league recap covering the finale of the MiLB season. Matt celebrates Urban Shocker’s birthday with a look back on his time with the Murderers’ Row Yankees, Andres debates the idea of letting the rotation stay rolling with Gerrit Cole getting the Game 1 start for the Wild Card, and Peter gives George Lombard Jr. the spotlight for the latest At-Bat of the Week.
Today’s Matchup:
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Time: 1:05 p.m. EST / 7:05 p.m. EST
TV: YES Network, Rays.TV (Game 1) / YES Network, Rays.TV, TBS (out of market, only) (Game 2)
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
