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Inside The Pinstripes

How the Yankees' Offensive Breakthrough Changes Their Pitching Plan for Game 2

By turning Game 1 into a laugher, the Yankees have significantly more pitching options for the rest of the Wild Card Series.
Joe Najarian|
Ben Rice's grand slam in the eighth inning of Game 1 allowed the New York Yankees to rest many key arms.
Ben Rice's grand slam in the eighth inning of Game 1 allowed the New York Yankees to rest many key arms. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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New York Yankees

Entering the bottom of the seventh inning on Tuesday night, the New York Yankees were carrying a 2-0 lead over the Boston Red Sox.

While the Yankees were thoroughly outplaying the Red Sox up to that point, the close score likely meant they would need to turn to high-leverage arms to make the lead stand up. Or at least, that was the plan until the offense woke up.

New York's lineup erupted for seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with Ben Rice's grand slam blasting the contest wide open. What was once a tight game was now a blowout, and the Yankees coasted comfortably to a 9-0 win and a 1-0 series advantage.

The Yankees will have two opportunities to send their hated rivals home over the next two days and punch their tickets to Tampa Bay. It won't be easy, as the Red Sox have a stalwart in Sonny Gray starting on Wednesday night and have Ranger Suarez looming in a potential Game 3. But making that series opener a laugher allows the Bronx Bombers to counter Boston's pitching by putting all hands on deck.

The Yankees' late rally significantly saved their bullpen

Cam Schlittler also deserves credit for preserving the Yankees' taxed bullpen, as he threw a career-high 117 pitches to navigate 6.1 scoreless innings. Paul Blackburn then induced an inning-ending double play, leaving New York six outs away from victory. This would likely involve either Blackburn or Brent Headrick for the eighth and David Bednar to nail down a save in the ninth.

But because the Yankees' offense came to life, Blackburn ended up being their only high-leverage arm to pitch on Tuesday. He needed only five pitches to finish the seventh, yet the two insurance runs in the bottom half made it safe to use Blackburn for another inning. After working around a two-out double to pitch a clean eighth, the Yankees got five outs from Blackburn on just 18 pitches.

After scoring five more runs in the eighth, the Yankees promptly sat down Bednar and instead went with righty specialist John Schreiber to get the last three outs. Schreiber finished the game with only 11 pitches. Bednar and Headrick, who were heavily relied on during the regular season, both got much-needed days off.

The Yankees can use anyone they want over the next two days

The Bronx Bombers should still feel fairly confident about their starting pitchers for Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary). Max Fried has put up great numbers against the Red Sox in the past, and while Gerrit Cole has struggled against them, his postseason track record is too strong to ignore.

However, Fried (and Cole if needed) will have a fully rested bullpen right behind them. In the case either of them gets into trouble, the Yankees can turn to pretty much any arm they want. Carlos Rodon and Will Warren are both available as long-relief options, while Bednar and Headrick can be called upon to put out any late-inning fires. In Bednar's case, he's rested enough to go for a multi-inning save, something he's been tasked with frequently and has consistently handled.

Even Blackburn and Schreiber could be available to pitch tonight. Blackburn might only be utilized as a fireman tasked with getting one big out based on his work on Tuesday, but he and Schreiber had low enough pitch counts for Aaron Boone to possibly consider using them on a second straight day.

At the same time, the Yankees shouldn't be reckless with their bullpen usage, particularly for Game 2. As dependable as Fried and Cole are, the Schlittler matchup was easily their most advantegous (no disrespect to Payton Tolle) and the gaps between Fried-Gray and Cole-Suarez are smaller. Emptying the tank in Game 2 and losing would leave the team in a very inconvenient position for a win-or-go-home Game 3. After all, they went with just 10 pitchers on the Wild Card roster.

Of course, the strategy of utilizing the entire bullpen is best used when the Yankees have a lead, so the offense needs to solve Gray and/or Suarez first. Fortunately, they put up some great at-bats against Tolle despite getting just one run against him, and those at-bats knocked him out in the middle of the fifth. From there, the Bronx Bombers pounced on an otherwise strong Red Sox bullpen.

The Red Sox are still a team that defied the odds this year, so the Yankees can't underestimate them with their backs against the wall. But winning Game 1 in that convincing manner puts New York in a very favorable position to finish off their rivals.

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Joe Najarian
JOE NAJARIAN

Joe Najarian is a writer for Yankees On SI, having previously covered the Yankees both for SI and additional sites since 2023. He also served as Deputy Editor for the Yankees, Mets and Orioles On SI sites, and additionally contributes to Athlon Sports and Men’s Journal covering Major League Baseball and other trending sports news. Joe is a graduate of Rutgers University in 2022, earning a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Media Studies.

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