It’s American League Division Series time as the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians square off in Game 1 from Progressive Field.
It’s ALDS time, the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians — Top-2 teams in baseball (per run differential) — are ready to head-to-head in Game 1.
For New York, Sonny Gray will get the starting nod in what will be his third career postseason start. As a member of the Oakland Athletics in 2013, the right-hander pitched eight innings of shutout ball against the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the ALDS and turned in a quality start in Game 5.
Between the Yankees and Athletics this season, he combined to post a 3.55 ERA in 27 starts and finished with the 10th-lowest ERA in the American League. Gray was also sixth in batting average against (.226) and seventh in opponent’s OBP (.294) and SLG (.374).
The Indians will go with 26-year-old Trevor Bauer, who also started the Tribe’s first Postseason game last season against the Red Sox, and will be making his fifth career Postseason start (sixth appearance).
Bauer set career-highs in wins (17) and strikeouts (196) in 2017 while posting a 4.19 ERA over 176.1 innings, the second-lowest mark of his career (4.18 in 2014).
Against Yankees, he went 2-0 this season while allowing just two earned runs over 13 innings of work (1.38 ERA). Bauer’s first start came on Aug. 4 at Progressive Field where he fanned seven batters en route to a 7-2 win and his second came at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 30, where he allowed one run on four hits in six innings.
Lineups:
How To Watch:
- Time: 7:38 p.m. ET
- Channel: Fox Sports 1
- Radio: ESPN Radio, WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WTAM/WMMS/IRN
- Venue: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
Player To Watch: Didi Gregorius
While Bauer savored a ton of success against the Yankees, Didi Gregorius has his number. In 16 at-bats, the Wild Card spark-plug owns a home run, two RBI’s, one double and a walk off the right-hander. The shot was a game-tying two-run shot off Bauer in the fifth inning back on July 7, 2016, in what ended up being a 5-4 win for the Yankees.
Off On The Right Foot:
In seven ALDS appearances since 2005, the New York Yankees have gone 6-1. Getting started on the right foot is a major key to this series with Corey Kluber looming in Game 2, but Cleveland has shown no fear in the past. New York’s only loss in that same span came in the 2007 ALDS when the Indians defeated them 12-3 at home.
We Meet Again:
This series marks the fourth time Cleveland and New York are squaring off in the postseason. The previous instances took place in 1997, 1998 and 2007. The Yankees dropped the division series in 1997 and 2007 but won the ALCS in 1998. Overall, the Yankees are 8-7 against the Indians in postseason play.
This Day In Yankees’ History:
On Oct. 5, 1953, the Yankees clinched their fifth consecutive
World Series title, defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers in six games. Billy Martin provided the winning hit, scoring Hank Bauer with a
one-out single to walk it off.