Matchups To Watch
- Aaron Judge vs Jose Altuve
MVP candidate vs MVP candidate. Can it get any better than this?
Altuve went 8-for-15 (.533) with three home runs against the Red Sox in the ALDS. The ultimate example of how good he was, however, isn’t up to a metric: the Red Sox intentionally walked him twice during the series to pitch to Carlos Correa.
On the flip side, Aaron Judge set the record for the most strikeouts (16) in a postseason series. Yet, he made a difference in Game 3, ultimately saving the Yankees’ postseason life by robbing Francisco Lindor of a two-run shot. Even when pitchers expose his flaws, his presence cannot be ignored.
The writers already submitted their MVP ballots, but whoever comes through for their respective team this series could solidify their case as the most valuable player.
- AJ Hinch vs Joe Girardi
We saw the good and ugly side of Joe Girardi in this year’s postseason thus far. We saw a guy who was a downright artist in the Wild Card game following a dud from Luis Severino and the guy who inexplicably decided to not challenge a hit-by-pitch in Game 2 of the ALDS.
Then, after being booed at Yankee Stadium, he was able to rally the troops, manage a beautiful final three games of the division series and pulled off an epic series comeback.
AJ Hinch has been solid with the young core Houston as built, but the experience that Girardi has as well as rallying the troops in the series prior, the edge goes to Girardi.
