Yankees-Rays Gm. 2 lineups, FAQ (TBS, 8 ET)

October 6th, 2020

In an American League Division Series that will be decided between the Rays’ pitching staff and the Yankees’ high-powered offense, New York won the first round, 9-3, over Tampa Bay in Game 1 on Monday.

The Yankees’ offense erupted with four home runs, including a Giancarlo Stanton grand slam in the ninth off John Curtiss that proved to be the dagger. Tampa Bay’s pitching staff had not allowed nine runs in a game since the Blue Jays scored 12 on Aug. 12.

Tampa Bay will lean on Tyler Glasnow to even up the series on Tuesday at Petco Park. The Rays went 9-2 in games started by Glasnow during the regular season, and the right-hander carried the club to a Game 2 win over the Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series.

New York will counter with rookie Deivi García. At 21 years and 140 days old, García will be younger than Hall of Famer Whitey Ford (21 years, 356 days) was in Game 4 of the 1950 World Series against the Phillies.

García will be the youngest starting pitcher for any team in the postseason since the Dodgers’ Julio Urías (20 years, 69 days) in Game 4 of the 2016 National League Championship Series against the Cubs.

• Rookie to make Yankees history in G2 start

In the history of best-of-five postseason series, Game 1 winners have gone on to take the series 98 of 136 times (72 percent). Last postseason, three of the four Game 1 winners in the LDS went on to win the series.

When is the game and how can I watch it?
The game will be shown on TBS at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday. It is also available to stream on MLB.TV with authentication.

Who will be the ‘home’ team?
By virtue of having higher playoff seeding, the Rays will bat last in Games 1 and 2. The Yankees will do so in Game 3 and, if necessary, a potential Game 4. Should the series advance to Game 5, Tampa Bay would be considered the home team.

Starting lineups
Yankees: Gary Sánchez is back behind the plate in Game 2, while manager Aaron Boone kept righty-swinging Clint Frazier, who homered on Monday, in the lineup at left field instead of lefty Brett Gardner against the right-handed Glasnow.

• Bombers rewriting the playoff record book

Rays: Though the Yankees are starting a right-hander, they’ll have lefties Jordan Montgomery and J.A. Happ available out of the bullpen, so the Rays opted to keep a healthy balance of lefties and righties in their Game 2 lineup. Austin Meadows, who got a pinch-hit at-bat in the seventh inning in Game 1, earns his first start of the postseason.

Who are the starting pitchers?
Yankees: This is a big moment for García (3-2, 4.98 ERA), who will try to put his club up 2-0 in the best-of-five series. García's unwavering confidence was a major factor in his selection, and he will present something of a mystery to the Rays, who will have only seen him on video.

Rays: Glasnow (5-1, 4.08 ERA) will get the start for the Rays. In his last outing against the Blue Jays, Glasnow struck out eight and allowed two runs in six innings. Glasnow, who struck out 91 over 57 1/3 innings during the regular season, punched out eight or more in eight of his 11 starts. The right-hander went 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA in three starts against the Yankees this season.

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Yankees: Stanton’s ninth-inning grand slam in Game 1 allowed the Yankees to avoid using closer Aroldis Chapman, though he did warm up. They needed 20 pitches from Chad Green and 14 from Zack Britton. If there’s a chance to go up 2-0 in the series, you can bet that Boone would call upon Green or Britton again.

Rays: Despite using four relievers in Game 1, the Rays will be in good shape for Game 2. They’ll hope for a long outing out of Glasnow and then will likely turn it over to Pete Fairbanks, Diego Castillo and Nick Anderson, who weren’t used in Game 1.

Ryan Thompson tossed two innings on Monday, but he threw just 21 pitches and should be available for Game 2. Oliver Drake needed just 14 pitches to get through his inning, so he’ll be available for back-to-back work if the Rays need to get a left-handed hitter in a big situation.

Are there any relievers who are unavailable?
Yankees: Boone might try to stay away from Luis Cessa, who threw 19 pitches. Cessa pitched on consecutive days only once this season.

Rays: Curtiss threw 42 pitches on Monday, which will likely keep him down for Game 2. Other than that, the Rays will use their bullpen aggressively in order to avoid going down 0-2 in the best-of-five series.

Any injuries of note?
Yankees: Nothing new, though Voit was again substituted out in the eighth inning due to his lingering left foot issue. The move was made for defensive purposes, with New York leading by a run.

Rays: None.

Who is hot and who is not?
Yankees: Stanton has homered in each of the Yanks’ postseason games thus far, collecting seven RBIs. Hicks had a three-hit performance in Game 1 and has scored five runs, working three walks. Judge has two hits in 14 playoff at-bats, but they were both homers.

Rays: Arozarena continued his recent tear at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run in Game 1. His only out was the hardest-hit ball of the game, a line drive to shortstop that had an exit velocity of 111 mph. Arozarena is now 7-for-12 with four extra-base hits in three postseason games.

• Arozarena adds to tear with Game 1 homer

Díaz is 0-for-6 in two postseason games, but the infielder will continue to play a big role in the Tampa Bay offense. Díaz led the team with a .428 on-base percentage during the regular season.

Anything else fans want to know?
Yankees: The Yankees are the first team in Major League history to score nine or more runs in each of their first three games of a postseason.

Rays: The Rays only lost consecutive games twice during the regular season and haven’t lost back-to-back games since dropping two against the Nationals on Sept. 7-8.