Make New York Post a Preferred Source ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Was it real, or just a Chad Tracy-assisted mirage?
Were the 18 runs on 26 hits the Yankees exploded for in their wild-card series proof they could survive postseason games without Aaron Judge, or just the result of feasting on a Red Sox bullpen after Tracy pulled his starter early in both games?
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The Yankees’ performance against Drew Rasmussen in Game 1 of the ALDS suggested the latter, though the Rays ace shoving against them is nothing new. They must quickly prove it was Rasmussen’s hex rather than their bats disappearing against terrific starting pitching to win three of the next four games and keep their season alive.
“It’s a tall order, but we’re built for it,” Ben Rice said after Saturday’s 1-0 loss in which the Yankees mustered just one hit and instantly saw it erased on Austin Wells’ baserunning blunder.
The best news for the Yankees on Monday is that Freddy Peralta will be on the mound and not Rasmussen, who looms for a potential Game 4. But Peralta has been sharp in his own right after the Mets traded him to the Rays, pitching to a 2.26 ERA in his last nine starts of the regular season.
While the Yankees will answer by sending their ace, Cam Schlittler, to the mound, they will need their bats to come alive for that to matter.
So on Sunday, an off-day with no official workout, some of them went to their spring training home at George M. Steinbrenner Field to hit off the Trajekt machine and get other work in to prepare for Peralta, who has faced the Yankees just twice in his career.
“Some of our guys have experience against him, so hopefully that serves us well,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday on a video call. “But we’ve got to go out and obviously put some pressure on them and hopefully support Cam in a good way.”
That has proven more difficult against starting pitchers this season and into the playoffs.
During the regular season, the Yankees hit just .223 (which ranked 30th in the majors) with a .699 OPS (26th) and 358 runs scored (26th) against starting pitchers. They were much more productive against relievers, batting .250 (seventh) with a .748 OPS (sixth) and 381 runs scored (seventh).
That has carried over into the small sample size of the postseason. Before Tracy pulled Payton Tolle and Sonny Gray early, the Yankees scored a combined three runs in 9 ¹/₃ innings against them — then did their damage against the Red Sox bullpen — before Rasmussen completely shut them down in Game 1 of the ALDS.
“You just got to come out here and work hard the next day and keep it going,” Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “I think we had a lot of competitive at-bats. I think they had a lot of great plays on the field. I think a lot of guys squared up a couple balls. They played great [Saturday] and [we] lost by one.”
As far as moves that Boone could make to jump-start the offense, there may not be much. Against righties Gray and Rasmussen, he has used the same lineup featuring all eight of his left-handed hitters, with George Lombard Jr. (who had two of the best-hit balls off Rasmussen) in the middle. Peralta is another right-hander that Boone said the Yankees view as neutral against righties and lefties.
The right-handed-hitting Paul Goldschmidt has had success against Peralta from their days together in the NL Central, batting 9-for-35 (.257) with an .887 OPS against him. But it is doubtful that would be enough to replace one of the Yankees’ best left-handed hitters, Luis García Jr., in the lineup.
Ryan McMahon, meanwhile, is 1-for-14 in his career against Peralta. Would the Yankees dare start Anthony Volpe (2-for-4, home run) at third base for him in Game 2?
Those are the questions Boone was left to ponder Sunday, staring down a 1-0 deficit in the series and needing his team to hit to its capabilities Monday to avoid going home for Game 3 with its season on the brink.
“We know they’re a tough opponent, and they’re going to land some blows,” Gerrit Cole said. “You got to take blows in the postseason and you got to dish them out too.”
