NEW YORK — There was no music. The strobe lights and fog machines were never turned on. Silence filled the air, broken occasionally with hushed chatter. There was anxiety. It felt less like the New York Yankees’ clubhouse and more like the waiting room at the dentist. Nobody wanted to be there.
Who could blame them? A 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals in Game 2 had just sent them from sitting pretty in the best-of-five American League Division Series to back on even ground. They went into Monday riding high from a 6-5 victory in Game 1. They finished it by staring down a late Tuesday flight to Missouri only to face AL Cy Young contender Seth Lugo on Wednesday night.
Still, the Yankees insisted, their backs aren’t against the wall.
“Still feels the same that we’re going to win it,” Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “It doesn’t feel like anybody feels any different. We’re going to go out there and do our things. We still don’t feel like any team is better than us. Like you said, we had a lot of missed opportunities tonight. They just got lucky.”
Game 3 isn’t necessarily a must win, they said, though it is important.
“Not at all,” star Juan Soto said.
“We’ve got to win two more,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So, as crucial as that.
“It’s the playoffs. Every day is crucial. Hopefully, we regroup and go take care of Game 3. That’s the next thing in front of us.”
Juan Soto: We know what we got. It’s just another game. We just have to move on and try to win the series. pic.twitter.com/YzvQ1rqAml
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 8, 2024
On Tuesday, the Yankees will host a light workout at Yankee Stadium in the afternoon before taking their private charter to the Midwest instead of working out at Kauffman Stadium. They didn’t feel the need to reacquaint themselves with a place they played at in June, opting instead for a good night’s sleep in their own beds on Monday.
They’ll need it.
In Lugo, they’ll be facing the Royals’ ace after lefty Cole Ragans held them to just one run in four innings before the bullpen stymied them the rest of the way, save for Chisholm’s meaningless solo shot in the ninth inning off closer Lucas Erceg.
Lugo throws nine pitches, according to Baseball Savant, leaning heavily on a four-seam fastball (.234 batting average against) and curveball (.194). In two starts versus the Yankees this season, he’s had mixed results. In June in Kansas City, the Yankees tagged him for four runs over seven innings and beat the Royals 4-2. But in September, Lugo held them down for seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts to beat the Yankees.
Lugo will be opposed by Yankees righty Clarke Schmidt, who edged AL Rookie of the Year candidate Luis Gil for the opportunity. When healthy, Schmidt has been one of the best pitchers in the American League, going 5-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 16 starts. Schmidt had a 3.65 ERA in five starts to finish the season after coming off the 60-day injured list (lat strain).
“He’s the right guy for that game,” Boone said.
Jon Berti, who started at first base Monday for the Yankees, said the team was focused on Game 3 and nothing else.
“That’s the most important game to us right now,” he said.
It must be.
If they lose, they’ll go down 2-1, and they’ll have to win Game 4 in enemy territory on Thursday and then take Game 5 on Saturday in the Bronx. The Yankees have won five of their last seven division series in which they won Game 1.
There were silver linings on Monday.
The Yankees bullpen was brilliant again as Boone used seven relievers to provide 5 1/3 scoreless innings. They held it down after Carlos Rodón started hot only to fizzle out, surrendering four earned runs over 3 2/3 innings.
Plus, Gleyber Torres added two walks, and seven Yankees starters recorded at least a hit.
But they’ll need more from their stars. In the first two games of the series, the Yankees didn’t get enough from Aaron Judge (1-for-7) and Giancarlo Stanton (1-for-8). After collecting three hits Saturday, Soto went 0-for-3 in Game 2.
Is the pressure affecting the Yankees at the plate?
“That’s what everyone deals with in the playoffs,” Boone said. “It’s not just us. That’s playoff baseball. The heat is turned up, and you’ve got to be able to slow things down a little bit.”
Judge said the defeat actually motivated his club.
“The boys are pumped up,” the Yankees’ captain said. “Definitely disappointed after this loss, but I think it definitely fired the guys up.”
Why are the Yankees so sure they can rebound?
“That’s what we’ve been showing all year long,” Soto said. “I think we can do that in any moment. As a team, we’ve been doing that stuff since day one. I have confidence in my guys that are coming behind me and in front of me, our starting rotation, our bullpen. Everybody — we know what we’ve got. It’s just another game. We’ve just got to move on and try to win the series.”
“That’s been a hallmark of our success,” Boone said, “especially after some difficult ones where we’ve had a win or lost something late or just a tough gut punch.”
Chisholm was more direct.
“One day we’re getting our butts kicked,” he said, “and the next day we’re kicking butt.”
(Photo of Giancarlo Stanton: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
