It all comes down to this.
For the Yankees to win the AL East, they must win today to sweep the Orioles, and the Rays must win up north at Toronto. Any other outcome and we’ll be back here Tuesday night
for the opening game of the Wild Card Series. Game 162 often feels like the last day of school, but this one gives me the vibe that I have one last final to write.
Luis Gil gets the ball, likely replaced in a potential Wild Card rotation after Cam Schlittler’s excellent outing yesterday put a bow on his stellar rookie campaign. Gil’s been OK on the topline stuff since returning to injury, but a full look under the hood shows some warning signs. His four-seam velo is down almost a mile and a half from last year, his walk rate is higher than his normal high baseline, and his strikeout rate has been cut by 8.5 points. He’s getting outs on contact but it’s mostly contact in the air, with basically a 30-percent groundball rate.
Kyle Bradish, going for Baltimore, is no pushover. In his return from Tommy John surgery, the man who finished fourth in 2023 AL Cy Young Award voting has a 2.25 ERA and 2.46 FIP albeit in just 28 innings. He’s a sinker-slider type, but has posted strikeout rates higher than you’d expect for his repertoire. It’s not a given the Yankees will jump on the O’s starter, unlike the other two games in this series.
Despite X-rays and a CT scan coming back clean, Jazz Chisholm Jr. will start the game on the bench today, a blow to the lefty power the Yankees have boasted all year — though perhaps wise as a precautionary measure just before the playoffs. José Caballero will get the assignment at second base.
Everyone plays at the same time today, so watch that scorebug in the bottom right-hand corner. The Yankees must win, and the Jays must lose.
How to Watch:
Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY
First Pitch: 3:05 p.m. EDT
TV broadcast: YES | MASN | MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 | 98 Rock 97.9 FM, WBAL 1090 AM
Online stream: Gotham Sports APP, MASN+
For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
