The New York Yankees secured their ticket to the playoffs a few days ago. Now, after their 10-game winning streak, they have been scuffling and have lost four of their last five contests. The recent cold streak has all but ensured the Bombers will have to play the Wild Card series on the road, although the foe is still unknown and will depend on this weekend’s results.
The New York Yankees have been an amazing team while playing at home this season, with a 21-7 record. Sadly, and thanks to the weird circumstances involving a 60-game season with expanded playoffs, the postseason format won’t have the usual games at both venues. In the specific case of the Wild Card series, the best four seeds will host the three games.
Right now, the Yankees aren’t one of the American League’s best four teams. That means they will play the whole Wild Card series as the visitors, and things in the road haven’t been as encouraging as they have been at home for them.
The Yankees haven’t been able to consistently win as the visiting team
The Yankees’ away record is a disappointing 11-18. “It’s something that needs to be corrected quickly,†said outfielder Brett Gardner to MLB.com. “Anybody can get hot at any time. The best team doesn’t always win in October; usually it’s the team that gets the hottest and plays the best at the end. Hopefully that’s going to be us.â€
The Minnesota Twins, the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians, plus the Yankees, are all vying for the American League’s fourth playoff seed.
“We’re going to have to do better than that,†manager Aaron Boone said. “I do know that if we’re playing our best, [I don’t care] where it is. We’ll get it rolling, but we’ve got to get ourselves in order and start playing really good baseball.â€
It appears that, to get to the World Series and win their 28th championship, the New York Yankees will have to be road warriors, starting from the Wild Card series. Can they pull it off?