KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the offense struggling to get past the first two games in a crucial game against the ALDS, all the Yankees need to do is acquire the pitcher who got off to the best start against them this year. Just do it.
No pressure.
With the series tied 1-1 heading into Wednesday's crucial Game 3 at Kauffman Stadium, the Yankees have their hands full with the Royals' Seth Lugo, fresh off a seven-inning shutout win over the Bronx last month. It will be.
“Hopefully that familiarity will be a benefit for us,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees headed to Kansas City on Tuesday. “We've seen him a few times this year. We had a little bit of success with him when we went to Kansas City in June. But I don't think he'll play against us for the last time. I thought [in New York] It was outstanding. He's one of those guys who has it all.
“When you hear the phrase 'kitchen sink,' he's going to throw away a little bit of everything. He's very good at sinking the ball, cutting, spinning, slowing down, changing speed. You might see eight different pitches at the same time. I hope it's helpful for us to just meet him and feel familiar. But he certainly poses a challenge. is.”
On top of that, the Yankees will look to solve the situational hitting issues that have plagued them offensively through the first two games, while doing enough to earn six points in a Game 1 win. Dew.
They are 3-of-19 with runners in scoring position and 9-of-43 with runners on base through two games (especially 2-of-20 in Game 2 on Monday). It was bad).
In both games, Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto got on base to take the lead in the bottom of the first inning and had chances to do some early damage, but both were stranded and Royals starting pitchers Michael Wacha and Cole Wacha I missed Ragans.
“Postseason baseball, it's the little things,” Torres said. “It's a small chance and we have to grab it. Lugo is really good, but we can take advantage of the little things they give us and try to score faster.”
That will be a challenge for Lugo, who pitched seven scoreless innings against the Yankees on September 10, recording 10 strikeouts, allowing only three singles, and no walks.
He at one point forced 17 batters out in a row between Torres' hits and threw 10 different pitches to keep the Yankees off balance.
In a June game at Kauffman Stadium, the Yankees gave up four runs in seven innings to Lugo, but the former Mets right-hander got his revenge in the rematch.
How the third meeting unfolds could be crucial in determining the series.
“A month ago, that's a long time,” Lugo said. “I felt like I was pretty focused and executed my pitches in that game, and that's what I'm trying to do.” [Wednesday]”
During the regular season, the Yankees' .809 OPS with runners in scoring position was the fourth-highest mark in the majors, and their .262 batting average in that situation ranked 10th.
With runners on base, he had the second-best OPS of .805 and a batting average of .262 (12th).
Still, there were times during the regular season when they struggled with runners in scoring position, but the company's policy was that if they continued to accumulate enough opportunities, they would get more opportunities as time went on.
But you can't do that forever in a best-of-five series.
“That's playoff baseball,” Boone said. “It's getting hotter, so we have to slow down a little bit.”
Rolling out a lineup for Game 2 featuring the bottom third of Anthony Volpe, Alex Verdugo and Jon Barty, Coach Boone has a few different possibilities with speed and bat-to-ball skill. It was hinted at as a possibility, but it never materialized on Monday. .
But at the end of the day, the Yankees are built around slugging power, and they just couldn't get enough of it in the first two games.
“I think this team is the best.” [bounce back]'' said Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has hit one of the Yankees' two home runs thus far. “One day we get our butts kicked and the next day we get our butts kicked. We turn everything around. We don't see anything as a downer. We come back the next day. Please learn from it.”
