The Yankees tried to sweep the Red Sox and avoid letting them clinch the AL East on our soil, but they couldn’t manage a win in the finale. So be it.
There were some positives to take away from this series.
Severino pitched well – better than he has in ages. Happ continues to dominate the Red Sox and provide an overall consistent arm in the rotation. Luke Voit continues to mash and infuse the team with tons of energy, making Bird a distant memory. Andujar may have his shortcomings on defense, but he can hit, really hit. Stanton’s grand slam last night broke him out of his slump. And, of course, Judge is back in the lineup; he may not have found his stroke yet, but he’s getting there.
On the negative side, Gary Sanchez. Period. Please can we trade him? What good is he to this team? If he were hitting a ton, I’d say OK, maybe he can DH now and then. But he hasn’t hit for real, not in a long time. And his defense is atrocious. As Kaat said last night on MLB Network, pitchers don’t want to throw to a guy they can’t trust and Boone would be well served to use Romine in a one-game playoff. Another negative? Tanaka. I would not use him to start a one-game playoff at Yankee Stadium. He gives up too many early runs. The shaky bullpen. Honestly, every time Betances takes the mound, I worry. Ditto: Chad Green. Chapman is back but let’s see how he does after the layoff. And Sheffield may or may not play a role in important situations.
With the A’s freaky 21-run win over the Angels yesterday, we’re only a whisper in front of them in the WC standings. This thing could go down to the wire.
I’ll be at the Monday night game when they open the series against the Rays – Section 1, Row Q at the Trop. I’ll try to will them to victory, but this race is on them.