Tampa Bay Rays

MLB World Series Game Recap: If you missed it, you missed the most amazing World Series game (video)

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With the roof open at Globe Life Field, game four of the World Series continued between the MLB Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays, with the Dodgers up a game on the series.  In the very first inning, Justin Turner hit a home run to center for the Los Angeles lead in the game. Rays reliever Yarbrough closed out the inning but not before giving up that home run.

At the top of the third inning, Corey Seager hit another home run for the Dodgers to far center field, the second home run against the Rays opener Yarbrough. The New York Yankee killer Randy Arozarena hit his 9th home run of the postseason letting the Rays get on the board, Dodgers 2 and the Rays 1.

The Tampa Bay Rays getting on the board was just the beginning of a game that would have many emotional swings back and forth. The Dodgers used six pitchers, and the Rays used seven in the game. Neither starter went very far into the game, Julio Urias who had had a 0.56 ERA before the game, went only 4.2 innings, and the Ray’s Ryan Yarbrough only went 3.1 innings.

At the bottom of the fourth inning, Randy Arozarena hit his 9th homer of the postseason for the all-time record number of home runs in baseball postseason history. At the top of the fifth, the Ray’s, Muncy had an RBI single,  That was followed by a mammoth home run by Hunter Renfroe. Enrique Hernandez had an RBI double, and it was 3-2 Dodgers.

The real action didn’t start until the beginning of the sixth inning with the score at Dodgers 3-2. At the top of the frame, when the Dodgers tacked on another run. Dodgers 4-2. But at the bottom of the inning, the Rays picked up three runs, making it 4-5 Rays. At the top of the seventh, Joc Pederson with the bases loaded hits the biggest hit of his career, singling and putting the Dodgers back on top 6-5 in the seventh inning. At the bottom of the seventh, Kevin Kiermaier tied up the game with a homer to center for the 6-6 game.

The Los Angeles Dodgers took the lead back in the top of the eighth inning, and it would stay that way until the bottom of the ninth inning. That is when things got crazy. What then transpired made this Game 4 the signature game of the series. With two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning, Brett Phillips who wasn’t even on the roster in the ALCS, pinch-hit and laced a single to center field off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, bringing in the tying run, but Dodger centerfielder Chris Taylor kicked the ball. Randy Arozarena, who was on his way to second base, never stopped running after he passed third base he stumbling and fell to the ground, meanwhile Taylor was throwing the ball to home, but Arozarena got up and dashed home sliding into home plate, face first for the Rays, last-second win. The Ray’s manager Kevin Cash had this to say about the amazing end to the game.

“The moment the ball left Phillips’ bat, we knew we had a tie ballgame, and then everything that happened afterward, Randy’s not used to having to run like that,” Cash said. “Normally he’s used to just trotting. So it threw him off for a little bit getting tripped up there between third and home. But Phillips, man, give that guy a lot of credit. I don’t know when the last time he got an at-bat was. Pretty impressive what he just did against one of the game’s best closers.

“Happened so fast, I didn’t know what to do. Gave a bunch of hugs, just in disbelief.”

The final score was 8-7 Tampa Bay. Kenley Jensen took the loss for the Dodgers and John Curtiss the win for the Rays. The Rays scored seven of their runs with two outs.

The Tampa Bay Rays win ties up the series at two games apiece going into Game 5, on Sunday night. The game tonight will be a matchup of the Game 1 starters, Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers against the Ray’s Tyler Glasnow. Whoever wins the game will put the other team in an elimination situation on Tuesday night, when the home field advantage switches back to the Dodgers. The game will be on the FOX Network.

The following video is the full bottom of the ninth inning.

 

 

MLB News: Game 3 of the World Series, Morton fails as the Dodgers take the 2 to 1 game lead in the Series.

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On a not so beautiful night in Arlington, Texas, it was Game 3 of the 2020 MLB World Series. Charlie Morton of the Tampa Bay Rays met up with the Los Angeles Dodgers Walker Buehler. For the first time in the World Series, there were fans in the stands, in a closed Stadium as the Globe Life Field roof was closed due to inclement weather. The Dodgers won the game 6-2.

Charlie Morton took the mound in the first inning as the home field advantage reverted to the Tampa Bay Rays for the next three games, after a day off Thursday. The teams were evened out at one game apiece in the series. Morton faced Justin Martin in the first, and Martin hit a home run to the left for the Dodgers one-run lead in the game. Morton got out of the inning, giving up just the one home run. At the bottom of the inning, Walker Buehler got the call from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Buehler made it look easy, striking out two in the inning. He struck out the New York Yankee Killer Randy Arozarena to close out the inning. After one inning, it was the Dodgers 1 and the Rays nothing.

At the top of the second inning, Cody Bellinger, who dislocated his shoulder in game two, flew out for the first out of the inning. Morton hit Corey Seager with a pitch then allowed Turner a double, Muncy singled, and it was 3-0 Dodgers in the third inning.  In the fourth, the Dodgers threatened again with men on the corners and only one out. Austin Barnes made a perfect bunt and drove in another run for the Dodgers 4-0 lead.   Mookie Betts singled, driving in Turner for the 5-0 Dodger lead. Mookie Betts then stole second. The Rays left Morton in to finish out the inning. Buehler pitched a perfect bottom of the inning.

Surprisingly the Rays put Morton back out for the top of the fifth inning. Muncy walked, and that was Morton’s night haven given up five earned runs in just four innings. The Rays replaced Morton with John Curtiss. Curtiss slammed the door on the remaining Dodgers. At the bottom, Beuhler gave hit first hit of the game to Manuel Margot, a double. Willie Adames hit a double driving in Margot, and the Rays were on the board. Dodgers 5 Rays 1.

At the top of the sixth, Austin Barns homered for the Dodgers off Curtiss for the 6-1 Dodger lead. Mookie Betts stole his second base on the night. Seager walked, but both were left on base. At the bottom of the frame, Austin Meadows got a single, the third hit off Buehler on the night. 26-year-old Walker Buehler struck out the next two Dodgers with a total of 10 strikeouts. At the top of the seventh, Ryan Sherriff took over for the Tampa Bay Rays. The game remained at 6-1 until the top of the ninth innning when Randy Arozarena hit a home tacking on a run for the Rays.

Walker Buehler was the winning pitcher and Charlie Mornton took the loss. The final score was 6-2 Dodgers, and the Dodgers advanced to a game ahead of the Rays in the in the best of seven series. Buehler pitched masterfully in the game. After the game Austin Barnes said ” That might have been the best I’ve ever seen his stuff.” Tomorrow night in game four of the World Series the Dodgers Julio Urias, who is 4-0 in the postseason with an ERA of .056, will face a yet unknown Ray pitcher at the time of this writing. The game will most likely be a pullpen game for the Rays.

 

 

 

 

 

MLB News: Tampa Bay Rays get revenge with win over the Dodgers, evening the series at a game apiece

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The Tampa Bay Rays took on the Los Angeles Dodgers last night behind one game in the MLB 2020 World Series. They put out co-ace Blake Snell to win it for the Rays; Snell is a left-hand hitter killer. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent out Tony Gonsolin in the hopes of continuing their winning ways. The Rays evened the series with the 6-4 win.

One out in the first inning Brandon Lowe hit a solo homer off Gosolin for the Tampa Rays early lead in the game. Then Joey Wendle drove in two with a double in the fourth as Tampa took a 3-0 lead, driving starter Tony Gonsolin out of the game. Dustin May took over for him, he allowed one on and then another homer for Brandon Lowe, and it was 5-0 Rays. Meanwhile, Blake Snell was dominant, with the Dodgers being hitless through four innings.

Snell showed his stuff as he got nine strikeouts through just the fifth innings. But Snell gave up a two-run home to Chris Taylor as the Los Angeles Dodgers got on the board and made it 5-2 Tampa Bay. A walk followed that to Mookie Betts as the Tampa Bay Rays got the bullpen warming up. Snell this year has seldom gone more than five innings in a game. Snell this gave up a hit to the hot Corey Seager moving Adames to second, and that was Snell’s night as Nick Anderson replaced him with two on base and the tying run at the plate in Justin Turner. Anderson struck out Turner ending the threat, but the Dodgers got within three.

Joe Kelly took over for the Dodgers in the sixth.  He gave up a single to Ray’s Ji-Man Choi. Manuel Margot singled, moving Choi to third. Joey Wendle had a sac fly scoring Choi for the Tampa Bay 6-2 lead. Margot stole second as Muncy overthrew to fist. Willie Adames struck out on a Kelly 98 mph fastball. Kevin Kiermaier grounded out, ending the inning, but the Dodgers got another run closer.

At the bottom of the frame, with Anderson still in, he gave up a homer to Will Smith drawing the Dodgers ever closer at 6-3 Rays. Now with a three-run ballgame, Cody Bellinger grounded out. Rios struck out, maintaining Ray’s three-run lead.

Entering the seventh inning Alex Wood took the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Zunino grounded out. Diaz singled to Mookie Betts, Lowe who hit two homers grounded back to the Wood, Mike Brosseau pinch-hitting, struck out ending the half. At the bottom of the seventh, Pete Fairbanks, who got the save in the ALCS, took to the mound and got Pederson to fly out. Taylor struck out, and Betts fly out for a perfect inning for Fairbanks. Rays 6 and the Dodgers 3.

The eighth inning featured Wood back on the mound for the Dodgers. Margot struck out, Joey Wendle to who had two homers in the game, popped out for the second out of the eighth. Willie Adames doubled for his first World Series hit. He was left on base by Kevin Kiermaier for another good inning for Wood. At the bottom of the frame, Cory Seager homered to right, bringing the Dodgers to within two of the Rays. Justin Turner doubled, Muncy flew out, Smith lined out but knocking out Fairbanks as Aaron Loup came in to close out the inning.

Entering the ninth inning with McGee pitching and one on Brandon Lowe stuck out, followed by the Yankee killer Randy Arozarena singling, making it two on with two outs. Renfro running for  Diaz. Mike Brosseau grounded out, leaving seven on base for the Rays. In the bottom with last licks for the Dodgers, With Loup back on the mound, Rios struck out. Austin Barnes flew out, and Loup was replaced by the Rays closer Deigo Castillo who had been warming to get the final out. Austin Taylor struck out, and that was the game as the Rays got their revenge and tied up the World Series at one game apiece.

Tomorrow night is a game night off; Friday’s game will be at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. It will feature a matchup between Ray’s veteran Charlie Morton facing the Dodger’s Walker Buehler at 8:08 pm on the Fox Network. Joey Wendle was the star in the game with two homers, and three runs were driven in. Nick Anderon took the win, and Gonsolin taking the loss. Deigo Castillo got the save in the 6-4 win for the Tampa Bay Rays.

 

 

MLB News: The Los Angeles Dodgers/Tampa Bay Rays World Series gets underway tonight

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With the New York Yankees out of MLB and licking their wounds along with the Houston Astros, many fans are still interested in the Fall Classic. Those interested want to see close games with a series that goes the full seven games, with outstanding pitching and long ball heroes. I can’t promise you any of these things, but for sure, it will be an exciting series with two teams that are very energized.

The Tampa Bay Rays haven’t been to the World Series since 2008, and the Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t won a World Series since 1988. The game tonight will be almost freaky as the cameras pan around, and you see and hear the cheers, and moans of real fans in the stands, albeit limited.

Tonight’s game and all the World Series games will be at the brand new Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers, in Arlington, Texas. The game time will be 8:09 pm, and the game-time temperature will be about  80 degrees and will stay in the upper ’70s throughout the game. The skies will be clear, and a perfect night for baseball in the open Globe Life Field. The game will be broadcast on the Fox Network.

First out on the mound will be pitching ace Clayton Kershaw as the first two games, the Dodgers will be the home team. Kershaw on the year was 6-2 with an ERA of 2.16. In the postseason, he was 2-1 with an ERA of 3.32. Kershaw is a seasoned veteran in the World Series with four starts in his career and one relief appearance. Kershaw relies mainly on a slider and a low ’90s four-seam fastball with some backspin. The 32-year-old, 6′ 4″ 225 pounder has re-invented his pitching in the last two years by adding a changeup to his repertoire.

The Tampa Bay Rays will start their strike-throwing Tyler Glasnow, who has pretty much cemented his place as the Rays ace over Blake Snell. Glasnow won his Wild Card Game against the Blue Jays, beat the New York Yankees on October 6, but lost his short rest to the Yankees on the 9th even though he didn’t have an earned run. In his last outing against the Houston Astros, he lost, giving up four runs in six innings.

Glasnow’s shortcoming is that he is basically a two-pitch pitcher; he throws a high ’90s four-seamer and a mid-’80s curveball.  He rarely throws a change-up. Despite being a two-pitch pitcher, he had 91 strikeouts in the regular season and had the fourth-most strikeouts in all of the baseball’s postseason with 25K’s.

I give the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kershaw the edge in Game 1.

 

MLB News: Astros hopes dashed as Tampa Bay Rays win the ALCS

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The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, now the Houston Astros have lost to them in the ALCS. So one of the teams with the cheapest payrolls will be in the World Series. We don’t know who they will be playing as the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves are tied at three games apiece after the Dodgers evened it up with a 3-1 win Saturday afternoon in Texas. They will have an elimination game tonight at 8:15 with the game seven on FS1.

In the ALDS, the Tampa Bay Ray’s Randy Arozarena was a Yankee killer. He continued his torrid play in the ALCS against the Astros and was named Series MVP. The Rays won yesterday’s game 4-2, dashing the hopes of the Houston Astros of going to their second World Series appearance.  The Astros, born the Colt 45’s of the National League, became the Houston Astros in 2013 moved to the American League. Since then, they have won two AL Pennants in 2017 and 2019, both against the New York Yankees.

The Tampa Bay Rays had their way with the New York Yankees in this shortened pandemic season. They won eight games of the ten meetings on the year. They then won the East Division over the Yankees. The Yankees went on to the ALDS Wild Card round and swept the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees had to face the Rays in the ALDS that the Yankees lost, ending their season. That set up the Rays Astros matchup in the ALCS.

The Tampa Bay Rays continued to play great baseball, winning the first three games in a row, putting the Astros in an elimination game. In only the second time in MLB history, the Astros won the next three games, forcing a game seven at Petco Park in San Diego.

Yesterday’s win over the Astros, advancing them to the World Series, came with the Rays Charlie Morton on the mound against Lance McCullers Jr. Morton got the win and McCullers Jr. the loss, with Pete Fairbanks getting the save for the Rays. The Rays will now face today’s NL game winner and play the World Series’s first game on Tuesday at 8:09 pm and will be broadcast on the Fox Network. The game will be played at Gold

MLB News: Houston Astros make historic comeback with win over the Rays

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For New York Yankee fans that are still interested in the MLB season, most of you would like to see the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays both lose and not go to the World Series. Well, that isn’t going to happen. In the ALCS the Houston Astros fell three games behind in the series and faced elimination last night. Then the near impossible happened the Astros completed their comeback from 0-3 to beat the Rays and even the series at 3 games apiece and force a game seven.

The Houston Astros feat was only the second time in MLB history that a team would come back from 0-3 in an ALCS series. The Astros beat the Rays last night 7-4 at Petco Park in San Diego. The Astros can now look forward to winning tonight’s game and going back to their home state of Texas to compete in World Series in front of a socially distant group of home town fans. The games at Globe Life Field and been played with a limited number of fans in the stands. The games at Petco has been fanless.

Some New York Yankees fans will be hoping that the Houston Astros lose tonight and go back to Houston with their tails between their legs. The Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees in the 2019 ALCS. Because of the win, Jose Altuve was named AL MVP, while the Yankees Aaron Judge came in second. Later MLB found that the Astros electronically cheated in the 2019 season and postseason. The General Manager and team manager were both suspended, but the Houston Astros owner fired them.

Other Yankee fans that are not all that down on the Houston Astros, may hope that the Rays lose the ALCS contest because of the unsportsmanlike antics they displayed after winning the series from the New York Yankees. They after the Tv cameras were off, walked out of the dugout, many smoking cigars while blaring “New York, New York, from the dugout.

Still, there are other AL MLB fans that don’t care who wins as long as it is an American League team, and will route for the winner to beat the National League team in the World Series. Tonight’s must-win game for both teams will be broadcast on TBS at 8:37 pm EDT. The Rays have the edge as they start the 2-0 Charlie Morton, who has an ERA of 0.90 in the postseason. He will start against Astro’s Lance McCullers Jr. who is 0-1 with a 3.93 ERA.

The other game that could be a deciding game will be the National League’s Championship Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves are up in the series 3-2. The Dodgers will have to win the late afternoon game to force a game seven, that will decide who goes to the World Series.  The game is at 4:38 pm EDT on FS1.

 

MLB News: Los Angeles Dodgers score record 11 runs in first inning in win over the Braves

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The postseason is over after losing game five of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays for the New York Yankees, but there are still things going on in MLB. Last night the Los Angeles Dodgers, two games behind in the NLCS, in their quest for a World Series appearance, scored a record 11 runs in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves. No team has ever scored 11 runs in the first inning of postseason play.

The final score in the game was Dodgers 15 and the Braves 3. Before the Dodger win, the Dodgers were two games behind the Braves, now 1-2 in the seven-game NLCS. They got the win with 5 homers, 13 hits, and 15 runs scored, all in the game’s first 3 innings. The game was held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and was the first series of the year to have fans socially distanced in the stands. During the first inning, many Atlanta fans left for local restaurants.

On the MLB American League side, the Tampa Bay Rays may walk away with the America League Championship tonight as it will be an elimination game for the Houston Astros.  The Rays won the first game in San Diego at Petco Park 2-1. The Rays won game 2, 4-2, and the third game 5-2, putting the Astros in an elimination situation. But the Astros won last night’s game 4-3, starving off elimination, which they again face tonight. The Ray already won the ALCS series from the New York Yankees three games to two, with the Yankees losing the deciding game by just one run.

In other baseball news the Wall Street Journal reported that Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane will soon have a stake in the Boston Red Sox through his company RedBall Acquisition Corp. Since you can’t be involved in running two MLB teams at once, it appears Beane will instead leave baseball entirely — joining Red Sox owner John Henry’s business efforts across other sports (most notably soccer — Henry owns the Liverpool club). During Beane’s time with the Athletics he brought the team to seven division titles since 1998.

 

New York Yankees: The Rays are in bad taste and act like children after the game

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Last night the New York Yankees lost the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays and drifted into the night having to wait for another chance at a World Series win. The Yankees were devastated after losing a tied game right up to the last minute, only to have Aroldis Chapman give up a home to the Rays’ Mike Brosseau for the Ray’s 2-1 win in the final game of the ALDS.

When the game was done, Ray’s all rushed to the field to celebrate, which would be expected.  They all greeted each other with high fives and hugs, while the Yankees sat in their dugout dejected, after fighting all kinds of obstacles and injuries, to get to the postseason and then lose it once again.

Then the tv cameras turned off, but the Tampa Bay Rays weren’t finished, in bad taste and in one of the most unsportsmanlike behaviors, the Rays weren’t happy enough with their win, they had to shove it in the face of hurting Yankee players, by playing “New York, New York” and Jay-Z’s “Empire State of mind” blaring from the dugout.  Many of them stood around the dugout and drank and smoked cigars. Last night they may have proved that they were the best team this season, but the also proved that many of them are classless baseball players that don’t know how to win graciously.

“We’re little kids trapped in grown men’s bodies,” veteran Kevin Kiermaier told Jerry Beach of the Associated Press after Wednesday’s night’s win over the Yankees.

New York Yankees: Are the Rays being cocky or just confident after Game 1 loss?

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New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Kevin Cash

While their body language projected sadness and disappointment after falling 9-3 to the New York Yankees on Monday night, the Tampa Bay Rays’ quotes after the game did project a sense of confidence that they will be OK, even though they dropped an important first game and now have to win three of the next four to advance to the American League Championship Series.

According to NJ Advance Media, while the Rays did acknowledge that the Yankees played good ball on Monday, they also said that they aren’t too worried about falling 0-1 in the best-of-five series.

“Not overly concerned,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. The Rays ended with a 40-20 record, the best in the American League, and they took eight of ten games against the New York Yankees.

“I don’t think we’re too frustrated by one game,” losing pitcher Blake Snell explained. “I think we’re right where we need to be.”

The Yankees have been able to consistently hit to this point

The Rays’ strongest unit is pitching, and that group couldn’t contain the Yankees yesterday. In fact, the Bombers have scored 31 runs in three games so far in the postseason, with a total of 11 home runs.

“We still have confidence that we’re still going to win,” Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi said.

Tonight, talented right-hander Tyler Glasnow will have the responsibilty of keeping the New York Yankees’ bats at bay.

“I like our depth pitching wise,” Snell said. “I like how we’re feeling in the clubhouse. I expect a big game out of us (Tuesday). I just think we’re that good of a team. I know how good they are, and they had a great game. So they got us (in Game 1), but I think (Tuesday night) we’ll be ready to go. We got Glasnow on the mound, so that’s exciting for us.”

“They (the Yankees) can hit,” Cash said. “There’s no secret in that. So there was nothing that was unexpected. They just got some guys back that are healthier. There were a handful of players that didn’t have consistent reps specifically against us or throughout the 60-game season for injury reasons. They looked healthy tonight.”

Yankees in for battle as Rays’ Kevin Kiermaier starts the chirping early

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New York Yankees. Kevin Kiermaier

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays have plenty of bad blood from the regular season, and it would be no surprise if it spilled over into the postseason.

Awkwardly, both teams are currently sharing the same hotel ahead of Monday’s opening game of the ALDS. It will be one for the ages, as both teams went back-and-forth this season, with the Rays earning the upper hand. They go into the series with an advantage and momentum, but the Yankees have a team that is virtually unstoppable when they are playing at the top of their game.

Earlier this year, the hostility began when closer Aroldis Chapman threw a 100 mph fastball at the head of Michal Brosseau. This sparked extreme animosity between the two teams, and it is clear that both dislike one another.

Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier didn’t hold back from expressing the truth: “The don’t like us, we don’t like them, and it’s going to continue to stay that way.”

Considering what went down, I’m not surprised that Kiermaier was openly negative toward the Yankees. His team got the best of the Bombers this year, and are arguably the best team in baseball, as outfielder Brett Gardner mentions.

“They had a really good season, ran away with the division. Obviously, it’s up to us to come out and play better against these guys,” Gardner continued.

Game one will feature two of the best pitchers in baseball, Gerrit Cole and Blake Snell. Cole was fantastic in his first post-season start in pinstripes. He lasted 7.0 innings, allowing two earned runs. He finished with a 2.57 ERA in the win over Cleveland in the Wild Card. Snell, on the other hand, was even better against the Toronto Blue Jays. He lasted 5.2 innings, striking out nine batters and allowing just one hit over 5.2 innings.

The major difference between the two was longevity. Cole managed to pitch almost two entire innings more than Snell but gave up two more runs. If the Yankees can remain patient and knock him out of the game early, they have a better shot at winning against the Rays.

The problem, Tampa has a stellar bullpen, and the Yankees struggle in that category. Their offense will need to be at the top of their game if they wish to walk away with a series win. Thankfully, they’re coming off a two-game sweep against Cleveland where they posted 22 total runs.