From Patrick Donnelly:
If there was any concern that the Yankees would suffer from a hangover – figuratively or literally – after celebrating Monday’s playoff-clinching victory, they put those thoughts to rest quickly on Tuesday.
Cody Bellinger and Spencer Jones homered and Max Fried pitched seven efficient and effective innings as the Yankees beat the Twins, 8-1, at Target Field.
Making his ninth start since returning from two months on the IL, Fried was looking to cut down on his number of pitches per inning so he could work deeper into the game. His game plan worked to perfection, as he needed just 88 pitches (58 strikes) to get 21 outs and ended up with his longest outing since April 22, when he pitched eight innings in a win at Boston.
The important thing for the Yankees was to make sure that Max Fried looked good in this game, and he looked fucking AMAZING. He was lights out, and just looked dominant. You have to feel happy about having Cam Schlittler and Max Fried starting the first two games of the playoffs if you’re the Yankees. Gerrit Cole might actually be in danger of not getting that third start at this point, with Carlos Rodon doing so well and Cole throwing what I’ve seen fans refer to as “Yes-hitters” every start now.
But the important thing was to match Cam with another great starter in a 1-2 punch in the playoffs, and Fried looked THAT good in this one.
Spencer Jones hit a MONSTER shot in this one that I would have given the featured image if not for Fried. Having such a solid 1-5 in this lineup is a HUGE help, and something the Yankees very much did NOT have in the 2024 playoffs, where Jazz was the #5 hitter throughout the playoffs and he stunk up the joint.
Gleyber Torres
Juan Soto
Aaron Judge
Giancarlo Stanton
Jazz Chisholm
Anthony Rizzo
Anthony Volpe
Austin Wells
Alex Verdugo
That had an amazing front four.
But look at the top five of the current projected 2026 playoff lineup…
Ben Rice
Cody Bellinger
Aaron Judge
Luis Garcia Jr.
Spencer Jones
Jazz Chisholm
George Lombard Jr.
Ryan McMahon
Austin Wells
That’s an EXTREMELY solid top five.
Spencer is also getting hot at just the right time. Also, doesn’t it feel like Heliot Ramos now seems like a totally different hitter? He seems to have embraced his role on this team, and he is now a SUPER high end fourth outfielder.
Of course, since the Rays keep winning, none of this really matters, as the Yankees will still be stuck in an incredibly difficult Wild Card Series with the Red Sox (the Yankees are 8-2 in their last ten and have gained…NO games on the Rays during that period).
About the Author
Volpe – first game back 3 for 4.
Since then 3 for 14.
But Jazz was good 813 OPS last year.
I’m loving Spence and am astonished by his success but Kevin Maas, Shane Spencer, and Greg Bird still haunt me.
Elmer Rodriguez 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 5 BB, 3 K — he’s had a few starts this year where he just couldn’t corral the walks
So they have the Rays series coming up in 4.5 games and they are currently 4 games back in the loss column. Also, unless they sweep, the Rays win the tiebreaker. Given that, going into the series next week, here is what I think they have do…
If they are 2 or more games back in the loss column, they have to sweep.
If they are 0 or 1 game back in the loss column, they have to win 3 of 4.
If they are up in the loss column, they have to at least split.
It would take an assist from the Red Sox, who play the Rays this weekend, for the Yankees to narrow that gap.
And neither Tampa nor Boston wants to face each other in the first round of the playoffs. They’d rather Boston play the Yankees. But Boston could lose the entire series and still be more than a game ahead of Cleveland for the last wild card spot.
So I suspect Boston doesn’t try that hard to beat Tampa, and it ends up still a 4+ game gap between the Yankees and Rays entering that series, and the Yankees still have to sweep.
As if they ever could.
Schmidt to roster, Waldo DFA.
Some team picks him up and next year he outhits our 2b Volpe
We hardly knew ye.
Rodon looking not so sharp.