KEEP CALM & START HITTING
SLUMPING YANKS NOT WORRIED ABOUT 0-2 HOLE: COMPLETE ALCS COVERAGE
Joe Girardi said he hasn’t seen signs of panic from his players during the f irst heartbreaking two games of the ALCS against the Astros.
That may be true, but the manager hasn’t seen many hits either in two losses that dropped the Yankees into a 0-2 ditch heading into Game 3 Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
No panic is nice. No hits? Lethal.
In two ALCS games, the Yankees are hitting a dismal . 159 (10-for-63) and have whiffed an alarming 27 times.
The lack of support for a pitching staff that allowed four runs in two games against a loaded lineup is the reason for being 0-2 in the best-of-seven series. The winner advances to the World Series.
Yet, Girardi said he can’t detect signs his club, which is short on postseason experience, has been or is ready to let anxiety creep into the equation.
“I think we’ve been through enough this year that there’s no panic. There were times during the season where we were 15 games over and we fell to four games over, and you come out of the [All-Star] break and you lose a really tough one to Boston, we bounce back and win the next day,’’ Girardi said Sunday at Yankee Stadium, where the Yankees didn’t work out and the Astros did. “Guys started to understand that you have to be resilient in this game.
“You’re going to have really tough losses and you have to learn to bounce back. Obviously would you rather be 1-1 or 2-0 the other way? Yeah. There’s no panic in them. They’re going to do what they do and see where the chips fall.’’
What the Yankees have working for them is they rallied from a three-run deficit in the wildcard game to beat the Twins. Then they went down, 0-2, to the Indians and won the next three to win the ALDS. And the ALCS is now in The Bronx, where the Yankees went an AL-best 51-30 during the regular season.
Yet, at some point the Yankees need to hit. Since Game 1 of the ALDS against the Indians, the Yankees are batting .190 (45-for-237). Yes, Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander are terrific pitchers but …
The dismal hitting starts with Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, and is the main reason the Yankees are staring at some ugly math.
Of the 29 teams that have won the f irst two games since the best-of-seven format was introduced to the league championship series, only three haven’t made it to the World Series.
CC Sabathia will be looking to extend the Yankees’ solid run of pitching. Charlie Morton, who isn’t Keuchel or Verlander, goes for the Astros.
Because Girardi doesn’t have options, he has to believe Judge and Sanchez will start to swing the bats better. Since the start of the ALDS, Judge is hitting .065 (2-for-31) and has whiffed 21 times. Sanchez is at .118 (4-for34) and has struck out 17 times.
“I think if a guy goes 2-for-20 during the regular season you don’t make much of it. It’s just part of the ups and downs of being a hitter and being productive and how careful they pitch to you,’’ Girardi said. “The other thing is we don’t have a ton of familiarity with these pitchers we’re facing. So I feel good about them. We’ve counted on them all year. We believe in them and I think they’re going to come out of it.’’
Girardi is n’ t alone in not detecting panic.
“This team has been exactly the same as it’s been all year, which is even keel. Up, down, whatever, we’ re a lways the same,’’ Sabathia said. “We pick each other up. It’s been like that the whole playoffs. These young kids are mature, you don’t have to say much to them. We just go out and stay the course, and try to win the ballgame.’’
More hits would help.
“Guys started to understand that you in have to be resilient going this game. You’re to have really tough to losses and you have learn to bounce back.” — Joe Girardi, on how his team grew during the season