Looking to bounce back after a Game 1 loss, the New York Yankees face a tall-order in Corey Kluber in Game 1 of the ALDS.
The New York Yankees are down one game to none in the best-of-five 2017 American League Division Series against the Indians and are looking to steal one in Game 2 before taking the series to Yankee Stadium.
Manager Joe Girardi is going with his show-stopper, CC Sabathia, who will make his first postseason start since 2012. After coming off the disabled list on Aug. 19, the 37-year-old has held opponents to a .246/.298/.400 slash line while going 5-0 with a 2.91 ERA.
Overall, Sabathia went 14-5 with a 3.69 ERA for his best season since his last All-Star campaign, but the most impressive statistic from his 2017 regular season are his numbers during his 10 starts coming off a Yankees’ loss (9-0, 1.71 ERA).
On the other side, the Yankees’ offense faces a tall-task when AL Cy Young award favorite, Corey Kluber, takes the hill. He finished the 2017 campaign with a record of 18-4 and a 2.25 ERA, which marked the lowest ERA in the Major Leagues this season.
In addition to ERA, he led the American League in wins, batting average against (.193) and WHIP (0.87). Over seven career starts against New York, Kluber is 5-1 with a 1.80 ERA and is coming off a 2016 postseason performance in which he allowed just seven earned runs in 34.1 innings pitched.
Lineups:
Tonight's @yankees lineup for ALDS Game 2 at CLE. First pitch at 5:08pm on @MLBNetwork pic.twitter.com/PRGdstXiMH
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) October 6, 2017
10/6 – #Indians #Lineup(5:00pm vs #Yankees)#FantasyBaseball #RotoAlerts #MLB #Baseball #StartingLineups #DFS pic.twitter.com/ZCrsc4xHG0
— Roto Alerts (@rotoalerts) October 6, 2017
Player To Watch: Jacoby Ellsbury
Perhaps the only Yankee with a taste of success off Corey Kluber, Yankees’ DH Jacoby Ellsbury is a player to keep an eye out in Game 2. The 34-year-old is 5-for-19 off tonight’s Indians’ starter including two doubles. His .263 average off Kluber is the highest of any current Yankee, ahead of Gary Sanchez, who owns the second-highest (.222).
No Worries:
The Yankees may be down after losing the series opener, but there is some room for optimism. New York has advanced in five of the six ALDS in which they lost the opener and have twice fallen behind two-games-to-one in the ALDS. In 2001, they advanced in five games over Oakland and in 2007, they were eliminated by the Indians.
This Day In Yankees’ History:
On Oct. 6, 1941, the Yankees clinched their ninth World Series title by defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers, 3-1, in Game 5 at Ebbets Field. Tiny Bonham allows only four hits in his complete-game effort and Joe Gordon finished the series going 7-for-14.
