Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, postseason edition! We'll keep you up to speed on everything you need to know every weekday throughout the 2025 MLB playoffs. Thanks for being here. The Yankees' season is on the brink for the third time in a week. After dropping Game 1 of their AL Wild Card Series to the Red Sox on Sept. 30, the Yanks faced a must-win scenario on each of the next two nights. And win they did to advance to the ALDS against the Blue Jays.
Now they face an even steeper climb after the first two games of that series. Toronto battered the Bronx Bombers at Rogers Centre over the weekend, outscoring them, 23-8, to grab a 2-0 series lead in this best-of-five set as both squads prepare for tonight's Game 3 in New York (FS1, 8:08 p.m. ET.).
The task in front of the Yankees is daunting, but not impossible. Aaron Judge knows firsthand. He was on the 2017 Yankees, who are the most recent club to win a Division Series after losing the first two games. Here are three reasons why they could pull off a similar comeback eight years later. The offense did come alive late in Game 2 By the time Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage exited his incredible start on Sunday after throwing 5 1/3 hitless innings, the Yankees' offense was just 6-for-49 in this series and 31-for-148 (.209) with 10 runs scored through basically 4 1/2 postseason games. But then you saw some of New York's struggling sluggers look more like themselves. Cody Bellinger homered. Judge and Giancarlo Stanton picked up a couple of hits. It was all for naught as the Yankees had fallen into a 12-0 abyss, but perhaps those three important bats are getting into a bit of a groove. |
The right arms will be on the mound in NY Carlos Rodón pitched with the season on the line last Wednesday and turned in a quality start en route to a win over the Red Sox. He will start tonight's Game 3. Assuming he can keep the season afloat for another day, he will be followed in Game 4 by rookie Cam Schlittler, who became the talk of the sport with his series-clinching dominance vs. Boston on Thursday. If those two hurlers can pitch up to their capabilities, the Yankees will be in a good position to force this series back to Canada. Toronto would face Fried -- and pressure? -- in Game 5 No, he didn't get the job done in Game 2, but Max Fried would be on regular rest for Game 5, and the Yankees would love to give their 19-game winner the ball again. Plus, will the Blue Jays be feeling more pressure than New York if this series goes the distance? It gnaws at the Yankees that they haven't won the World Series since 2009, but the Blue Jays are the home team here. They are the AL East champions. They know they haven't won a postseason series since 2016. So how would they react in a winner-take-all game that puts them on the edge of becoming the 11th team to squander a 2-0 lead in a five-game postseason series? The Yanks aren't alone in their comeback quest, as over in the NL, both the Cubs and Phillies are on the brink of elimination after falling into 2-0 holes. The NLDS resumes tomorrow, with the Brewers heading down to Chi-town (5:08 p.m. ET, TBS, truTV, HBO Max) and the Dodgers hosting the Phillies at Chavez Ravine (9:08 pm. ET, TBS, truTV, HBO Max). -- Brian Murphy |
TIGERS BACK IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT |
It's been more than two weeks since the Tigers played a game at Comerica Park -- and even longer since they last won there. The last time they played at home, on Sept. 21, they walked off the field to scattered boos, having just completed an 0-6 homestand that threw the division race into uncertainty and had them suddenly in jeopardy of missing the playoffs entirely. Sixteen days later, they're back, set to face the Mariners in Game 3 of the ALDS with the series tied at one game apiece. As our own Jason Beck details, they're returning home with a chip on their shoulder after a grueling road stretch that saw them sneak into the playoffs, knock off the Guardians in the AL Wild Card Series and then split the first two games of the ALDS in Seattle. The last time they actually won a game at home? A 6-0 win over the White Sox on Sept. 6 -- 31 days ago. They'll need to change that to avoid going home for good. -- Thomas Harrigan |
Forget the Bronx Bombers. The real Bombers in this ALDS are north of the border. The Blue Jays' power surge to start their 2025 playoff run has been historic. They're not just outhomering the Yankees, 8-1, through the first two games of the ALDS. They're homering more than they're striking out. The Jays have hit eight home runs as a team. They've only struck out seven times as a team. That's a ridiculous stat. Only one other team in MLB history has ever homered more than it struck out through its first two games of a postseason. That was the 2005 White Sox, who had six home runs and only four strikeouts through the first two games of their ALDS sweep of the Red Sox. And those White Sox, remember, steamrolled their way to the World Series championship that year. They were one of the most dominant postseason teams of all time, with an 11-1 record in the playoffs. Will the Blue Jays follow in their footsteps? You can read all about Toronto's homer-happy playoffs in Keegan Matheson's report here. -- David Adler |
EMERALD CITY SLUGGER ROCKS SPARKLING CLEATS |
Suffice to say it's fun to be Josh Naylor right now: The slugger is having his best season in the Majors, has become a true fan favorite with the AL West champion Mariners and was back in the lineup for ALDS Game 3 after returning to the team following a detour to be with his wife, who was expecting their first child.
Exciting times call for exciting kicks. Naylor has genuine sneakerhead bona fides – he's said to have more than 75 custom pairs of cleats and 450 pairs of shoes overall, and he earned deserved plaudits for his Players' Weekend cleats that called out to his charity work with the Ronald McDonald House.
In that vein, the pair of rhinestone-emblazoned Air Jordan 11s he wore for Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday stood out even for a player who tends to go flashy. Stadium Custom Kicks, which created these and many other pairs for Naylor, told us it takes 24 hours to place more than 8,000 crystals one by one on these cleats.
Think you can pull these off? They'll run you about $1,600, the going price for cleats that shine as bright as the postseason spotlight.
-- Bryan Horowitz
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