The New York Yankees lost just about all hope of winning the AL East after their last series against the Boston Red Sox.
The Carmines swept the Yankees in the three-game set, using a come-from-behind victory to seal up the the finale on Sunday night.
New York now stands at 9 1⁄2 games out of first place in the East. It would take an improbable Boston collapse for the Yankees to take over the top spot in the division down the stretch. The Red Sox are too good, and the Yankees have too many question marks to resolve before the playoffs begin.
The White Sox will host those Yankees for a three-game series starting tonight. Look, this team is still dangerous and in no way shape or form am I discrediting how potent this lineup can be. Whenever you roll out a lineup with Didi Gregorious, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, the odds of scoring five or more runs are in your favor.
Not to mention that the team has been without catcher Gary Sanchez for close to two weeks. New York fans have called out Sanchez for not hustling on two separate occasions before he went on the disabled list. Yankees fans overreacting to a player’s performance? Oh, come on!
But Sanchez hasn’t been the same player this year as he has shown in the past. His hard-hit percentage is down six points from two years ago, and his strikeouts are also up. The Sox likely will not face him, instead seeing Austin Romine handle the pitching staff.
And what about those pitchers?
Luis Severino came into this season as a Cy Young candidate and had a strong April/May/June, but has really struggled since.
Severino posted a 6.58 ERA in July, and had another bad start in his first August appearance. The righty gave up just six home runs in his first three months this year, but has allowed eight long balls since July 1. His fly ball rate is up, and the strikeouts are a bit down. Not a recipe for success when you’re scheduled to start at the Rate — even if you are facing this season’s White Sox lineup.
Severino goes Wednesday night, but the White Sox will face familiar foe Lance Lynn, for the third time this season, in tonight’s matchup. The Yankees traded two prospects to get Lynn in July from the Minnesota Twins. Lynn hasn’t been great this year, but he’s fared relatively well against the Sox.
Lynn has thrown a combined 11 innings against the South Siders this season, giving up six earned runs and striking out 15.
Tuesday night’s Yankees starter will be CC Sabathia. The big lefty hasn’t slowed down just yet, but his peripherals indicate a regression may be coming soon. While the 3.59 ERA seems nice for the 38-year-old, his 4.70 FIP may be cause for concern for the Yankees. Batters are also recording a .282 BABIP against Sabathia, meaning he is getting a bit lucky with their contact.
Regardless, it will sure be an interesting serie,s and could get even more interesting if you know who, or the other you know who, gets called up.
Side note: Darren Jackson and I have discussed how much sense it would make for Eloy and/or Kopech’s promotion to be announced on Thursday’s off-day. That way, fans could have plenty of time to buy tickets and fill the stadium for a highly anticipated Friday night game (Kopech is in line to start for Charlotte that night).
But anyway, it all comes down to how the boxes check, right?
Here are your probables for the upcoming series.
Monday, Aug. 6: Dylan Covey (4-7, 5.57 ERA) vs. Lance Lynn (7-8, 4.89 ERA)
Tuesday, Aug. 7: Reynaldo Lopez (4-9, 4.47 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (6-4, 3.59 ERA)
Wednesday, Aug. 8: Lucas Giolito (7-8, 5.97 ERA) vs. Luis Severino (14-5, 3.08 ERA)