When the New York Yankees step into the batter’s box at Progressive Field on Tuesday, the team will be facing a difficult task on hill.
Cleveland Indians star pitcher Shane Bieber gets the ball for game one of the Wild Card Series, coming off undoubtedly his best season. The 25-year-old won the pitching triple-crown (wins, ERA, strikeouts), and is most likely on his way to his first career Cy Young award.
Bieber had quality starts in 10 of his 12 games, and went under six innings just twice all year.
With that being said, Bieber is the last guy the Yankees want to be facing, especially in a three-game series. The Yankees certainly haven’t been road warriors either, going just 11-18 away from home.
On the other hand, the Yankees have their ace on the hill in Gerrit Cole, and he’s really hit his stride as of late. Cole pitched to a tune of a 1.00 ERA in September in four starts, discovering backup catcher Kyle Higashioka. The two have worked extremely well together, as Higashioka has caught all four of Cole’s games in September. Higashioka even had himself a three home-run game a few weeks ago.
So regardless, Tuesday’s series opener is expected to be a fun one. Primetime postseason baseball on ESPN. But for game one to be even more fun for the Yankees, they need to hit. They’ve had inconsistent bats all season, and were shut-out to end the regular season on Sunday, halting momentum from Saturday’s win.
Being that the Wild Card Series is just a three-game series, there’s even less margin for error. The Yankees need to play with a lot of confidence, take the first two games of the series and get to California.