Familiar foes renew hostilities
As Yankees, Rays meet in bubble, there’s little love lost between them
SAN DIEGO— After losing eight of 10 games in a contentious regular-season series, the New York Yankees just can’t shake the AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays.
Not only will the Bronx Bombers face the Rays in the AL Division Series at Petco Park in one of MLB’s bubbles, but the teams that have a recent history of throwing at each others’ hitters are sharing the same resort hotel in northern San Diego County.
Outfielder Brett Gardner said he’s cordial when he passes Rays players at the hotel.
“Obviously it’s not ideal, but it’s the cards that we’ve been dealt and I feel we’ve got a group of guys that’s very professional and just business as usual.”
Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier minced no words when he said: “They don’t like us, we don’t like them, and it’s going to continue to stay that way.”
Responded Gardner: “I think the feeling’s probably mutual.”
Game1is Monday night, when Yankees ace Gerrit Cole — raised in Southern California — opposes Blake Snell, the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner.
“They got the best of us this year, arguably the best team in baseball,” Gardner said of the Rays, the AL’s top seed. “They had a really good season, ran away with the division. Obviously it’s up to us to come out and play better against these guys.”
Snell said he’s not concentrating on the hard feelings between these teams in recent seasons.
“I just know they’re a very talented team that I’m looking forward to facing,” Snell said.
Here are some other things to look for in the series:
BAD BLOOD
Hard feelings date to spring training 2008. They hit a peak on Sept. 1 when Aroldis Chapman threw a 101-m.p.h. pitch near Mike Brosseau’s head. That led Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash to say, “I’ve got a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 miles an hour,” and the Rays began wearing blue T-shirts with four horses lined up behind a fence.
Chapman earned a threegame suspension that remains under appeal. Both managers were suspended one game apiece. Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka had hit Joey Wendle with a 95-m.p.h. fastball in the first inning.
CALIFORNIA COLE
Cole grew up a Yankees fan in the heart of Angels and Dodgers territory, pitched at UCLA and then spent five seasons with Pittsburgh and two with Houston before realizing his dream when he signed a nine-year, $324 million (U.S.) contract with the Yankees.
Thanks to the oddness of 2020, he’ll make his second post-season start for the Yankees in an NL ballpark and could come back on short rest for a Game 5.
He went 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA in two starts against Tampa Bay in last year’s ALDS, and was 0-1 in three starts against them this regular season.
The Yankees struggled with injuries and inconsistent play but also strung together a 10-game winning streak toward the end of the season. They’re at their best when they’re hitting home runs. First baseman Luke Voit led the majors with 22, and the Yankees were fifth in the majors with 94. They hit seven homers in a two-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians in a wildcard series.
“When we’ve got a full lineup and everyone’s healthy and they’re in there, we’ve got something special here in New York,” said slugger Aaron Judge. “That’s why we’re excited going into this post-season having everybody healthy. It’s a scary lineup we’ve got when everyone is full go.”
OLD HOME
There was a lot of pre-series talk about learning the layout of Petco Park. While the Yankees haven’t played there since 2016, the Rays did last season and they have former Padres outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot to give them the lowdown on the big downtown ballpark.
SNELL’S COMFORT ZONE
Snell was injured last year when the Rays visited the Padres, but he loves Petco Park. “The chance of my team coming to San Diego to play is rare. I’m taking it like something that’s pretty unique. It’s not going to happen again, most likely. I’m enjoying it because I love this stadium.