About Yesterday Afternoon: Yanks Win 5-2

About Yesterday Afternoon: The Yankees Downed the Red Sox 5-2

By Tim Kabel

September 16, 2024

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The Yankees are in the home stretch of the season. There are two weeks to go before the playoffs start. The magic number for the Yankees to clinch a playoff spot is three. That should happen by the middle of the week at the latest. The more important goal for this team is to win the division. They have a three-game lead with twelve games to play. They need to win the division because having to go through the wild card round would make things a lot more difficult. Besides, to lose the division at this point, would be a bad sign heading into the playoffs. It would be like Gerrit Cole plunking and then intentionally walking Rafael Devers the other day. You don't want to sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of the opposition or even your own players. The last 12 games of this season are very important.

Quick Stats –

·       Aaron Judge now has 132 RBI, which is his career high. He has twelve games left to play.

·       The Yankees lead the Orioles by three full games with twelve games left in the season. Since three of those games are against the Orioles, it would be nice if the Yankees padded their lead a bit before playing them.

·      The Yankees finished the season series against the Red Sox 7-6.  They are 25-24 against the American League East.

·      The Red Sox have used a pinch hitter 180 times this season.  That either means that their manager is very creative, or their starters are not very good.

·       Carlos Rodon won his 15th game this season, which is his career high. In this day and age, that's a pretty good number.

·      On September 15th, 1938, Gaylord Perry was born. I'm just spit balling here but, he was a very good pitcher.

Big Story –

The Yankees went 5-2 on this homestand. Right now, they look a lot more like the team that started the season than the team they have been most recently. However, it wasn't that long ago that they lost three consecutive series. They are poised to win the division but, it is the end of the season and they have a six-game road trip to the West Coast this week. Then, they will play against the Orioles, before finishing the season with the Pirates. Anything could happen. The Yankees have to be sure they run through the finish line rather than attempt to coast because we have all seen examples of that backfiring in the face of teams and individual athletes. Remember Lindsey Jacobellis? The Yankees should have two goals for the last two weeks of this season: Win the division and have everyone healthy for the playoffs.

Player of the Game – 

Aaron Judge obliterated a ball for his 53rd home run of the season and drove in two runs. The drought is officially over.

Notable Performances –

The bullpen pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing only two hits. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this continues into the playoffs.

Oswaldo Cabrera returned from the Witness Protection Program to collect two hits.

Better to Forget until the bitter end

There wasn't much to complain about. For an old grouch like me, that's saying something.

My Take –  

Watching the New York Yankees play in 2024 has been like riding a roller coaster. You rush from highs to lows with no pause in between. I don't know about you but, I despise roller coasters. After my first few experiences with them, I avoided them. As Yankees’ fans, we can't avoid the rollercoaster that is this season. We are strapped into the roller coaster until the bitter end.

The regular season roller coaster is about to come to a stop. Before it does, there is still time for more thrills. The Yankees could finish strong and win the division without blinking an eye. On the other hand, they could go on a losing streak on the West Coast and against the Orioles. They could limp across the finish line. At this point, I wouldn't wager much in either direction.

One way or another, the Yankees will make the playoffs. It would be dangerous to go in as a wild card team because if they faced a hungry team with strong pitching, they could be ousted in the first round. That's why it is essential that they win the division. What makes it especially essential is the fact that they already have it in their grasp. What I am saying is: they shouldn't lose the division. Whatever they do, they need to maintain enough of that three-game lead to win the American League East two weeks from yesterday.

The playoffs will be a crapshoot, especially in this season when everybody seems to be playing at about the same level. Therefore, it is imperative to go into the playoffs in the best position possible. Remember in April, when everyone wrote off the Houston Astros? Well, now they are in first place in the American League West. It would certainly behoove the Yankees to have home field advantage throughout the playoffs, no matter who they would be playing. That is why these next twelve games are extremely important. I don't want to be writing an article two weeks from today, referring to this stretch of games as “The Dirty Dozen”.

Next Up 

Tuesday, the Yankees will open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners at 9:40 PM at T-Mobile Park. Luis Gil, (13-6, 3.18 ERA) will face Seattle’s Bryan Woo, (8-2, 2.39 ERA). Hopefully, Bryan will not channel Pedro Martinez and say to the Yankees, ”Woo’s Your Daddy.”