The New York Yankees have lost the first two games of their series against the Baltimore Orioles. A comeback attempt came up just short on Wednesday, and the O’s ended up winning 9-7 despite a late Aaron Judge home run. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians are giving the Yanks a reason to play hard in what’s left of the week and the regular season.
The Yankees are still in a tight race with the Guardians
The Guards have won their last two against the Cincinnati Reds and are just 0.5 games behind the Yankees for an important race: the best record in the American League.
The Yankees have had all kinds of issues playing against the Orioles this year, and that has put them in a dangerous position. First of all, they still haven’t secured the AL East title: they will do so with a win, but that has proven challenging – to say the least – in the first two games the teams have played this week.
Now, they also have to worry about the Guardians and the best record in the AL. It’s not just a matter of prestige and respect: if the Yankees finish out the season as the best in the junior circuit, they will lock up home-field advantage through the American League Championship Series.
Why home-field advantage matters for the Yankees
There is a difference between playing three home games in the American League Championship Series as opposed to four, if the Guardians and Yankees both make it there. Cleveland, for example, has a 50-28 record at home and a 42-39 mark on the road. They are much more dangerous at Progressive Field and the Yankees would be smart to make sure to put themselves in a position to play as many games as they can at Yankee Stadium.
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The Yankees themselves, oddly, have a worse record at home than on the road, but ask them and any fan and they will say they would rather play more often at Yankee Stadium. To achieve that, they need to hold off the red-hot Guardians this week.
The Yankees do hold the tiebreaker, though, so Cleveland would still need to finish above NY and not in a tie. But the Bombers might be running into unnecessary problems if they don’t start winning again.
