After Monday night’s heavyweight fight, Tuesday’s dud, and Wednesday’s pull-a-“W”-out-of-the-hat magic trick, this wacky and often less-than-fun series with the Angels wraps up this afternoon. The Yankees get to hand the ball to their ace, Max Fried, while the Angels appear ready to take the opener approach in this getaway game.
Both of New York’s victories in this series have felt more exhausting than celebratory. They have been the kind of games that leave the dugout, and the fanbase, relieved more than triumphant.
Between swings in momentum, defensive miscues, and the emotional whiplash of close finishes, the Yankees have still managed to take two of the first three despite Mike Trout going full 2019, blasting four home runs and driving in eight runs through the opening three games.
The good news for the Yankees is that the ball is in the exact hands they want for a game like this. Ace Max Fried will try to reel Trout back in and keep the rest of the Halos in the clouds long enough for New York to take the series and finally exhale.
Fried enters at 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 20 strikeouts, giving the Yankees their most stabilizing presence on a day when the bullpen could certainly use a cleaner path to the late innings. After three consecutive games that have forced the Yankees to grind through relief arms—including a couple who aren’t even on the active roster anymore—and with this being the club’s 10th straight day of games, Fried’s ability to provide length may matter almost as much as the result itself. A deep outing would not only help secure the series, but also better position the Yankees for the Royals, who arrive in the Bronx this weekend for a three-game set.
The Angels will hope the opener allows them to fly home with a split, as they have chosen veteran lefty Brent Suter to take the ball first. Suter started his career with the Brewers before short stints in Colorado and Cincinnati, eventually landing with the Angels this past offseason. In the early going, he has appeared in six games and allowed three earned runs across 13 innings, with his last outing coming on April 11th when he worked 3.2 scoreless innings against the Reds in Cincinnati.
So far this season, Suter has not allowed an earned run against any team other than the Mariners, which is exactly the kind of oddly specific baseball note that should make Yankees fans a little nervous. Make no mistake about it, the Angels waiting until the last minute to announce their starter did little to inspire confidence in a Yankees offense that has spent much of this series making mystery arms look more dangerous than they are.
Yes, Ben Rice has been excellent, yet the Yankees keep sitting him. Aaron Judge has been good, but not yet Judge good (albeit nearly matching Trout with three homers of his own in this series), while Giancarlo Stanton has drifted into single-merchant territory and Cody Bellinger currently looks like he is swinging a pool noodle at the plate.
I could keep going and pile on, but the rest of the regulars will not get any extra baggage from me until they are hitting above .200. For the record, five regulars currently sit below that mark, at .119, .164, .185, .186, and .191. For a lineup with this much talent, today would be a nice day for the bottom of the order to stop letting opposing pitchers look and post numbers like prime Randy Johnson.
Speaking of the lineup, after last night’s sprint home to score the winning run, Austin Wells gets the day off, and the second-hottest hitter on the Yankees right now, Amed Rosario, gets the start at third. Rosario will bat sixth behind Rice, and the lineup as a whole makes a lot more sense than some of the previous configurations, even if one still has to wonder if Rice and Bellinger will eventually be flipped to better protect Judge in the three-hole.
The Yankees have already proven they can survive messy baseball against the Halos. Cleaning it up and taking the series behind their ace, though, would allow them to sleep a little easier in their own beds tonight before a makeshift offday—or at least a true night off—arrives after the final out. In a long season, getaway games often reveal how good teams convert survival into momentum, and this feels like one of those afternoons. Taking a series after surviving Trout in full shark mode, with two walk-off wins and a gem from your ace, might be exactly what this team needs to start playing better baseball.
Here’s to hoping for a less wild ride this afternoon. If nothing else, let’s all enjoy getting to watch a little Yankees matinee baseball on a beautiful spring day in the best city in the country.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY
First pitch: 1:35 pm ET
TV broadcast: Yankees – YES | FanDuel Sports Network West
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280, KLAA 830
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