The Yankees are facing a major test starting on Tuesday evening against the Cleveland Guardians. This is a potential playoff matchup they could encounter in October, and the Guardians are no joke, boasting one of the best offenses in baseball along with competent pitching.
Yankees V Guardians Pitching Matchup: Luis Gil vs. Matthew Boyd
On Tuesday, Luis Gil will take on Matthew Boyd, a left-handed pitcher who has only 5.1 innings under his belt this year. Gil is coming off a spotty start in his most recent appearance against the Chicago White Sox, where he gave up seven hits and four earned runs over four innings.
On the season, the 26-year-old rookie holds a 3.25 ERA, 10.43 strikeouts per nine innings, a 77.5% left-on-base rate, and a 36.8% ground ball rate over 121.2 innings. If the season ended today, the Bombers might lean on Gil to make a postseason start and feature in their three-man rotation.
Potential Rotation Changes: Clarke Schmidt’s Role
This, of course, assumes Clarke Schmidt doesn’t reclaim his spot in the starting rotation and put together a strong few weeks that may force Gil into a high-leverage bullpen role.
Guardians’ Offensive Threats
The Guardians have several elite offensive players, including José Ramírez and Steven Kwan. After a red-hot start to the season, Kwan has leveled off slightly but remains an elite contact hitter, slashing .316/.374/.467.
Navigating the Guardians’ Lineup
The Bombers will have to be extremely careful when maneuvering through Cleveland’s lineup, but the Yankees have some damaging hitters of their own. The Guardians have lost three consecutive games, being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers. They scored no more than three runs in any of the losses, so they are a beatable team; the Yankees just need to rise to the occasion and play their brand of baseball.
The Yankees have had their own struggles, recently losing a series against the Detroit Tigers over the weekend and being dominated by the Los Angeles Angels about two weeks ago.
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Importance of Gaining Momentum
The Yankees need to get hot at the right time, and while they do have some regular season action left before the playoffs, firing on all cylinders is essential as they approach the elimination rounds. In the end, it ultimately boils down to who has the hot hand, and the Yankees have the capacity to perform at a very high level—they just need everything to come together perfectly.