The New York Yankees season is down to a single baseball game as they host the Boston Red Sox trailing 2-1 in the ALDS one day after suffering their worst loss in playoff history.
Yesterday’s game 3 ended with a Red Sox blowout of 16-1 leaving the Yankees against the wall and is now up to veteran pitcher C.C. Sabathia to try to save their season as he will start opposite Boston’s Rick Porcello.
History was made not only because Boston’s Brock Holt became the first player to hit for the cycle in postseason history, but because the game’s score was the largest margin of victory for a road team in the history of the MLB playoffs.
Luis Severino suffered another postseason debacle as he was pounded for seven hits and six earned runs over just three innings of work.
The game was over before it even started as the Yankees trailed early and often. In fact, the situation was so bad that by the fifth inning a big number of fans were already leaving Yankees Stadium as the Bronx Bombers already trailed 10-0.
Sabathia, on an 11-day rest, will make his 24th postseason start, while Porcello is taking the mound tonight even though he was slated to pitch yesterday. Cora made the change to give Sabathia an extra day of rest after he made a relief appearance in game 1.
Porcello was solid in the regular season against the Yankees, but he’s struggled in the postseason and as a starter in the playoffs (0-3, 5.33 ERA). If Porcello falters don’t expect manager Alex Cora to leave him in for long, but instead to quickly take him out and put in David Price.
It’s a bleak outlook for the Yankees, but there is hope. Not only because Sabathia has been solid for them in the playoffs since they acquired him in 2009, but because they already were in this position last season and persevered.
Last year in the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians the Yankees also trailed 2-1 and ended winning the series, but it will be interesting to see how much fuel they have left in the tank after their worst postseason defeat at home.
