Yankees biggest stars have maligned teammates to thank for this victory
Gerrit Cole didn't pitch like an ace. Aaron Judge did nothing against his postseason demons. Of the Yankees' big three stars, only Juan Soto appeared in the first playoff game in 2024. The Yankees won anyway, as some of the most maligned players of the season — Clay Holmes, Gleyber Torres, and especially Alex Verdugo […]
Yankees’ Gerrit Cole struggles in rocky Game 1 start
It only took one pitch to know what kind of night it was going to be for Gerrit Cole. Cole's 96 mph fastball, which started the Yankees' postseason run, sailed into the right field warning track, where it was caught by Juan Soto. The next two batters hit the ball even harder, all three with […]
Bobby Witt, Aaron Boone enraged during Yankees’ win over Royals
No one was happy in his penultimate at-bat of the Yankees' 6-5 victory over the Royals in Game 1 of the ALDS. Yankees relief pitcher Luke Weaver, who became the team's closer after the season, struck out Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. in a dramatic eight-pitch play. Facing a full count, Weaver threw a 96 […]
Alex Verdugo plays unlikely hero in Yankees’ Game 1 ALDS win
In a back-and-forth Game 1 of the ALDS, it wasn't Gerrit Cole, Juan Soto or even Aaron Judge who played the hero. It was Alex Verdugo who hit the winning hit in a game where the lead changed hands in the fifth inning of the Yankees-Royals game Saturday night at Stadium. Verdugo, who had struggled […]
Leaving Marcus Stroman off Yankees’ ALDS roster was ‘hard decision’
Marcus Stroman was removed from the ALDS roster due to rotation into the bullpen. The Yankees decided to have only 11 pitchers on their roster for the series against the Royals, but Stroman was not one of them. The right-handed pitcher had a 4.31 ERA in 30 regular-season games (29 starts), but he doesn't have […]
Oswaldo Cabrera gets ALDS Game 1 start at first base for Yankees
With Anthony Rizzo sidelined in the ALDS with two broken fingers on his right hand, the Yankees started Oswaldo Cabrera in Game 1 against the Royals on Saturday night. This was Cabrera's fifth start at this position in the majors, and came after the Yankees debated between Cabrera and Ben Rice versus right-hander Michael Wacha. […]
Yankees leave Marcus Stroman, Mark Leiter Jr. left off ALDS roster
The Yankees have set a 26-man roster for the ALDS, selecting 11 pitchers and 15 position players to add speed off the bench. Pitchers Marcus Stroman and Mark Leiter Jr. were removed from the roster, with pitcher Tim Meza as the second left-handed pitcher and outfielder Duke Ellis as a pinch-running threat. The five-game schedule, […]
Yankees’ rivalry with Royals was once fiercest of them all
I once wrote a book called “The Emperor and the Idiot,'' about the history of the rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox, for which I interviewed nearly 150 former baseball players, managers, and executives. What struck me most was that almost all of these players had played for teams other than the Yankees and […]
Five things Yankees fans should know about Royals
Five things Yankees fans need to know about the Royals heading into Game 1 of the ALDS at Stadium on Saturday night: 1. The last person left Their postseason berth is historically unlikely, as they were just the third team in the expansion era to lose at least 106 games and make the playoffs the […]
Juan Soto’s free agency looms over his Yankees playoff debut
Juan Soto's first, and perhaps only, season in pinstripes was everything the Yankees had hoped for…so far. He had his best performance at the plate all year, and his presence in the lineup helped turn around the Yankees' offense, creating a threat in front of Aaron Judge during Judge's historic season. All of that will […]