If the New York Yankees think they had a rough time with the Blue Jays last night, tonight will be a more significant challenge, as they will face the Blue Jays ace in the last game of the four-game series. The Yankees lost the first game, won the second, but lost the third game of the series last night, preventing them from winning the series. The most they can now hope for is a split.
The Yankees played lousy ball in the 14-1 loss last night. They committed as many errors as they got hits. The Blue Jays pitching held the Yankees down, and when the Yankees could have taken advantage, they failed. In the fifth inning, they loaded the bases up with Yankees, with no outs, but could not score a run. With the Yankees sloppy play, what should have been outs, turned into runs for the aggressive Blue Jays. Both the Yankee’s starting pitching and bullpen failed miserably.
These have been essential games for the Yankees and the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays are trying to secure their spot in the postseason, and the Yankees, who have already clinched, are trying to move the Wild Card series to their home park, Yankee Stadium. As it stands now, the Yankees will play all three of the Wild Card games at the Minnesota Twin’s Target Field.
The first round of the American League postseason is still fluid. The New York Yankees are set to play the Minnesota Twins, but that could change. The Chicago White Sox have entered the mix, any combination of Twins losses and Sox wins could see the Yankees playing the White Sox instead, at Yankee Stadium. In other East news, the Tampa Bay Rays have captured the East Division title. The Yankees lost, and the Rays won their game against the Mets, allowing them to capture their third East Division title in their 22-year history.
Tonight, the Yankees will face the Blue Jays at their temporary home at Sahlen Field in Buffalo. The game will be played under partly cloudy skies that will turn clear. The game- time (6:37 pm) temperature will be at about 70 degrees, and there will be only a slight breeze. The game will be televised on the YES Network and in Canada on SNET. It will be broadcast nationally on the MLB Network (out of market only).
The Toronto Blue Jays will send out their ace, Hyun Jin Ryu, who is 4-2 with an ERA of 3.00. Ryu came to the Blue Jays before the August trade deadline from the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has been everything the Jays could have asked for. His last outing against the Yankees came on September 7th, when he beat them 12-7, giving up five earned runs in as many innings. His only blemish with the Jays came in his last outing, against the Philadelphia Phillies; he lost to the Phillies 3-1. Tonight he will be tuning up his final adjustments in preparation for the postseason.
For the New York Yankees, Jordan Montgomery will pitch in an effort to show the Yankees that he can pitch successfully in the postseason. Montgomery, who is 2-2 with an ERA of 5.12, has had an inconsistent season, at times showing brilliance, and at other times pitching poorly. He lost three in a row before winning one in the last sweep of the Orioles. His last outing, he got a no-decision in a Yankee win that he lasted only 4.2 innings.
As it stands right now, there is a three-way competition as to who will pitch the third game of the Wild Card series. J.A. Happ, Deivi Garcia, and Montgomery are under consideration. If “Monty” loses tonight’s game, that decision will be made more comfortable, and the Yankees will select the veteran J. A. Happ.
After tonight’s game, the Yankees will travel back to Yankee Stadium to face the Miami Marlins, in the last series of the regular season. They will continue to be in the “bubble” until they win a 28th World Championship or are earlier eliminated. Monday will be a day off, and the Wild Card series will start on Tuesday, team, and location yet to be determined.