New York will play the second game of its two-game series at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. The Yankees entered the series having stabilized their American League East lead over the weekend with a pair of wins over Tampa Bay. Boston was on a four-game losing streak prior to winning two games in Baltimore on Saturday and Sunday.
New York saw its monster AL East lead start to slip away when it lost 19 out of 29 games in the month of August. The Yankees really entered dangerous territory when they lost two out of three games at Tampa Bay in the first weekend of September and then dropped another game to the Rays last Friday night. New York was able to bounce back with a pair of dominant victories over the Rays on Saturday and Sunday, which likely sealed the division crown. The Yankees are 5.5 games ahead of Tampa Bay in the AL East heading into Tuesday night’s slate, and they do not have any head-to-head meetings remaining in the regular season.
The first player to have at least six outfield assists in his first 16 career games in the outfield since 1940.
The Wizard of Oz. pic.twitter.com/4v2bQzrkN1
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 13, 2022
The Yankees have one of the most powerful lineups in the majors, leading the MLB in home runs (221), but they have struggled with consistency. They rank No. 20 in team batting average, which could end up being their downfall in the postseason. Center fielder Aaron Judge leads the way with 155 hits, including an MLB-best 55 home runs. He is facing a Boston pitching staff that is No. 25 with an ERA of 4.47. Left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortes is going to be on the mound for New York on Wednesday night. He allowed two runs on two hits while striking out two across four innings against Minnesota last Thursday in what was his first outing since Aug. 21 (groin). Cortes has a season-best 5.7% walk rate on the year and is 9-4 with a 2.73 ERA overall.