KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the pivot game of the ALDS, with their offense yet to break out through the first two games, all the Yankees have to do is get to a pitcher who threw the best start against them of anyone this year.
No pressure.
With the series tied 1-1 heading into Wednesday’s critical Game 3 at Kauffman Stadium, the Yankees will have their hands full with the Royals’ Seth Lugo, who just dominated them across seven shutout innings last month in The Bronx.
Seth Lugo blanked the Yankees in his last start against them at the Stadium last month.USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
“Hopefully that serves us well, that familiarity,” manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday before the Yankees flew to Kansas City. “We’ve seen him a couple times this year. We had a little bit of success with him when we were in Kansas City in June. But I thought his last outing against us [in New York] was outstanding. He is one of those guys that, he’s got everything.
“You hear that phrase ‘kitchen sink,’ he’s gonna throw a little bit of everything. He can sink the ball, cut it, spin it, slow it down, change speeds really well. You might see eight different pitches at a given time. Hopefully that serves us well, having that familiarity of just seeing him. But he certainly poses a challenge.”
On top of all that, the Yankees will be trying to fix their own issues with situational hitting that have plagued them offensively through the first two games, even while doing enough to scratch six runs across in a Game 1 win.
They are hitting a combined 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position through two games and 9-for-43 with runners on base (with an especially poor 2-for-20 showing in Monday’s Game 2).
Both games, they had an opportunity to do early damage with Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto getting on base to lead off the bottom of the first, but they were stranded both times, letting Royals starters Michael Wacha and Cole Ragans off the hook.
“Postseason baseball, it’s the little things,” Torres said. “A small opportunity, you have to take it. Lugo’s really good, but we can take advantage of small things they give us and just try to score earlier.”
That will be a challenge against Lugo, who allowed just three singles and no walks while striking out 10 in seven scoreless innings against the Yankees on Sept. 10.
He retired 17 straight batters at one point, in between hits by Torres, and kept the Yankees off-balance by throwing 10 different pitches.
Gleyber Torres, celebrating after scoring a run during a regular-season game, said the Yankees have to take advantage of “the little things” against a tough pitcher such as Seth Lugo.Getty Images
The Yankees did get to Lugo for four runs in seven innings at Kauffman Stadium in June, though the former Mets right-hander came back with a vengeance for the rematch.
How the third meeting plays out could be critical in swinging the series.
“A month ago, that’s a long time,” Lugo said. “Felt like I was pretty focused that game and executing pitches, and that’s what I’m going to try to do [Wednesday].”
During the regular season, the Yankees’ .809 OPS with runners in scoring position was the fourth-highest mark in the majors while their .262 batting average in those situations ranked 10th.
With runners on base, their .805 OPS was the second-best while they hit .262 (12th).
Still, they went through some stretches during the regular season where they struggled with runners in scoring position and the company line was that if they kept racking up enough of those opportunities, they liked their chances over time.
But they don’t have forever to make that happen in a best-of-five series.
“That’s playoff baseball,” Boone said. “The heat is turned up, and you’ve got to be able to slow things down a little bit.”
Source : nypost.com
