close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • Yankees series vs. Orioles provides another magic number to chase
    news

    Yankees series vs. Orioles provides another magic number to chase

    Vaseline Posted on

    play

    NEW YORK – Not long ago, this week’s Yankees-Orioles series was being touted as pivotal.

    Exactly two weeks ago, the Yankees held a slim half-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East, making this three-game series seem crucial.

    Now it seems like an invitation to the Yankees’ next victory party.

    As Aaron Judge said, the Yankees “just have to take care of their business,” and that means winning one game against the O’s to clinch the division title.

    With the magic number one to win their second AL East championship in three years, the Yankees are scheduled to start Clarke Schmidt against Dean Kremer on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.

    A few other notable things as the Yankees come home from their 5-1 loss to Seattle and Oakland holds a six-game lead over Baltimore with six games left in the regular season:

    Yankees’ Magic Number to Achieve AL Best Record

    Speaking of magic numbers, the Yankees have three points to claim the AL’s best record.

    Any combination of Yankees wins or Cleveland Guardians losses, for a total of three, would give the Yankees home-field advantage in the AL playoffs. That’s notable, especially with an AL Championship Series game against the Houston Astros still to come.

    The Yankees are the league’s best away team at 50-31 and they also reclaimed the AL Central at 24-7.

    This week, the AL Central champions Guardians close out the season with five home games: two against the Cincinnati Reds (76-81) and three against the AL West-leading Houston Astros.

    Meanwhile, NL Central side Pittsburgh Pirates follow the Orioles to Yankee Stadium this weekend.

    The rise of Gleyber Torres as leadoff

    In late March, Gleyber Torres started as the Yankees’ leadoff hitter after DJ LeMahieu suffered a fracture to his right foot at the end of spring training.

    Torres never really got a handle on the starting position and manager Aaron Boone unsuccessfully cut Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo as starting players before returning to Torres.

    Since being moved back to the leadoff spot on Aug. 16, Torres has hit .308 with an OPS of .830 and five home runs in 162 plate appearances — a significant turnaround from his sluggish first 115 games.

    An analysis of each case: Yankees’ Austin Wells or Luis Gil for AL Rookie of the Year?

    Before returning to the leadoff position, Torres had a .236 batting average with an OPS of .658 and 10 home runs in 481 plate appearances.

    “He stays aggressive in his zone, I think that’s the biggest thing,” Judge told YES Network on Sunday. “We all get a little passive sometimes when we’re not swinging the way we want to.

    “But in the second half he showed confidence and stayed aggressive early in the game. When you do that, good things can happen.”

    Yankees Form Pitching Rotation for Postseason

    After Schmidt on Tuesday night, the Yankees will start Nestor Cortes and Gerrit Cole against Baltimore.

    Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman could start against Pittsburgh this weekend. If they win the AL championship, the Yanks won’t play again until the Division Series opener on Oct. 5 at Yankee Stadium.

    Cortes could easily slot himself into third place behind Cole and Rodon, the only starters the Yanks need in the ALDS.

    If there is no rain, there will be rest days after the first and second games of the ALDS, meaning Cole can rest completely in Game 4.

    Gil and Stroman could play a role in the bullpen through at least the first round of the playoffs, and the Yankees hope to get Jake Cousins ​​(strained pectoral muscle) back before the start of the ALDS after placing him on the injured list retroactive to last Thursday.

    John Sterling returns to the Yankees radio booth

    Just in time for the playoffs, John Sterling will be a guest in the Yankees’ radio booth again.

    Sterling retired in April but was asked to join Suzyn Waldman, her regular partner with the Yankees, for the final stretch of the season and the playoffs (while the season lasts) and to cover both home and away games.

    Sterling’s return begins Tuesday night against the Orioles, and perhaps we’ll hear then what he has in store for a home run by Jazz Chisholm Jr., or some other variation on the “It’s Juan-derful” Juan Soto call.

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like