The New York Yankees are just one loss away from going home for the winter. The Yankees lost 6-5 to the Cleveland Guards in Game 3 of the ALDS on Saturday night, taking a 5-3 lead in the ninth inning. Cleveland leads 2-1 for the best of the five series. One more win and the Guardians take on the Houston Astros in the ALCS.
“Keep going,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said when asked how he would handle a loss like Game 3. “It’s tingling right now and it’s blunt. You know, you’re frustrated because you’re so close to the finish, but we have to turn the page … we got Gerrit [Cole] go [Sunday]. We look forward to coming here and winning. ”
The Yankees certainly have the ability to bounce back from a 2-1 deficit — they went 2-0 against the ALDS against Cleveland six years ago — although it won’t be easy, and they need something to Getting stuck where it makes it a reality. Here are five things that must happen for the Yankees to make an ALDS comeback.
1. Take advantage of Cole’s start
It almost goes without saying. Gerrit Cole will start Game 4, having a normal rest from last Tuesday’s Game 1 due to an unusual ALDS schedule. Kerr was great in Game 1 and will have to do it again in Game 4. The Yankees need Cole to control the Guardians and chew an inning as the bullpen is taxed and understaffed due to injuries. At least Clay Holmes will be in Game 4.
2. The referee is based on the third set
Aaron Judge looked as bad as the batter in Game 1 and Game 2. He went 0 for 8 with walks and seven strikeouts in two gamesand then in Game 3, he hit a miraculous 449-foot two-run homer at midfield to tie the game in the third inning.
Judges hit another ball to the warning track late in the game. Needless to say, the Yankees need Judge to continue hitting baseball and leading his team the way he did in the regular season at the MVP level. Over the summer, New York’s roster was so crippled by injuries that Judge was an army of singles, dragging his team to victory. They need that person again.
Also, the Yankees badly need Giancarlo Stanton (1-for-9 in ALDS), Gleyber Torres (2-for-12) and a few others to wake up on the plate. Rookie Oswaldo Cabrera went 0-for-8 with five strikeouts in Games 1 and 2, then exploded with a double and a two-run homer in Game 3. The supporting roles definitely need to be strengthened as well.
3. Others breathe a sigh of relief
The Yankees have used right-hander Jonathan Loisga and southpaw Vandy Peralta in all three games of this series, including Peralta’s extended seven in Game 3. streak. I can’t imagine they won’t be able to play 4 this season, although both will pitch for the third day in a row, which could jeopardize them. They may not be at optimal efficiency levels or need to go up the hill.
In that case, the Yankees need someone else — preferably someone Otherwise – get out of the bullpen and get a big out at some point. The offense can help by giving pitchers breathing room, but you can’t expect an avalanche of runs in the playoffs. Here’s the ALDS bullpen in New York:
Castro, Gehman and Lutitch have yet to pitch in the series — Castro and Lutitch haven’t even warmed up — and Tayyon faces just three hitters in Game 2 . The career starter went into the 10th inning of the tie, so he was in the Circle of Confidence™ and even though he allowed two runs in that inning, the Yankees probably didn’t want to throw him back in the fire if they could help if.
The point is, Loáisiga and Peralta can’t do all the heavy lifting for the rest of the series. Whether Boone likes it or not, he’s going to have to ask everyone else to win big at some point. Maybe Tyrone, maybe Castro, maybe someone else entirely. It has to happen. If the Yankees are going to win the series, they have at least 18 innings to finish.
4. Clean up defenses
The Yankees led all teams in the regular season in defensive scoring with 129 — the Dodgers were second with 84 — and their defensive rating was 0.720, second only to the Dodgers’ 0.729. I’m not sure I believe these exact numbers, but I think the Yankees are one of the best defensive teams in baseball in the regular season. With this goal in mind, they revised their roster.
To date, this top-notch defense has not been evident in ALDS. Josh Donaldson made a costly throwing miss on José Ramírez’s bloop double in the decisive tenth in Game 2 and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in Game 3 Knocked down two players from short distances in the game. Both games led directly to running and forcing pitchers to throw more pitches. Extra outs are always bad news, but they’re especially expensive in the playoffs.
Cleveland puts so much into the ball that it has to play a good defense. They’ll test you, and if you don’t play a role, they’ll take the extra base and force things out. The Yankees have to clean up defensive mistakes and stop giving the guards so many extra outs and extra bases.
5. Lucky
Luck is better than good, but it’s better to be lucky and OK A little luck – a favorable call, a lucky bounce, etc. – Won’t hurt the Yankees at this point. They could use the break (or two or three) to turn things around and start turning the series back in their favor. There’s no shame in getting a little help along the way.