After a thrilling 5-2 win in Game 1 of the American League Championship series, the Yankees will have Gerrit Cole going in Game 2, but their offense won’t have a particularly easy assignment. While Alex Cobb didn’t have the kind of repertoire that would be able to overwhelm the Yankees, Tanner Bibee presents a different kind of challenge. A young right-hander who pitched to a 3.47 ERA and struck out 187 batters across 173.2 innings this past season, Bibee is no easy challenge, but considering how dominant the Guardians’ bullpen is, they’ll have to get to him early if they want to win.
With multiple secondary pitches that he can turn to, Tanner Bibee can spin it with the best in the sport, but the Yankees might have the personnel needed to get to Cleveland’s top starter.
Yankees Can Counter Tanner Bibee With Slew of Lefties
In the ALDS, Tanner Bibee made crucial starts for the Guardians in Games 1 and 4, with both resulting in wins as he held his own in short outings. The right-hander struck out nine batters across 8.2 innings with a 2.08 ERA in his first playoff series, but by not completing five innings in either start, it shows that Stephen Vogt isn’t afraid to pull his top starter when a lane is there to win the game.
What the Yankees can do to force the hand of the Guardians’ skipper is to ensure that Bibee sees as many quality left-handed bats as possible.
Including the regular and postseason, there is a massive discrepancy in success against righties and lefties, which bodes well for a Yankees’ team with plenty of options. Juan Soto, Austin Wells, Jazz Chisholm, and Alex Verdugo will all be in the lineup, and Aaron Boone seemed to confirm that Anthony Rizzo would as well after the game yesterday.
The decision I would personally contest is the decision to play Rizzo, as while it’s hard to project how a player will perform in one game, there are plenty of reasons to believe Oswaldo Cabrera would be better served for this game. After posting a 107 wRC+ against RHP in the regular season, the switch-hitting infielder proved himself to be a viable bat against righties in October as well.
Furthermore, while Tanner Bibee’s four-seamer isn’t a great pitch, it is still a firm offering and the Yankees need to be able to jump all over that pitch when it’s in-zone. At 94-95 MPH, it unfortunately isn’t the kind of pitch I’d expect Rizzo to have much success with either, as he has a .248 wOBA against four-seamers at or above 95 MPH from right-handed pitchers this season.
Regardless of who they play at first base, the Yankees have to stack lefties to give themselves the best chance of converting with RISP.
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The Yankees are slugging .141 with RISP, and in all three of their home games thus far they’ve had two on and no one out in the bottom of the first without cashing in. I still strongly believe the tides will turn for the Yankees on that front, as they’ve done an excellent job of marrying elite quality of contact with a high quantity of it.
Only the Padres, who were knocked out by the Dodgers in the NLDS, have a lower strikeout rate in the postseason than the Yankees, and they’re the only remaining squad that has a K% below 20%. The Yankees also have the best xwOBACON (.438) in the tournament, regardless of whether you filter out eliminated teams or not as they’ve barreled 9.8% of batted balls with a 36.9% Sweet Spot%.
Gerrit Cole is on the bump, the Yankees have the lefties to throw Bibee off of his game, and this is a chance for this team to take a decisive 2-0 advantage in the series. Winning Game 1 is important, but this second game could set the tone for the series at large.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:38 PM EST as the Yankees and Guardians square off for Game 2 of the ALCS on TBS.