The Yankees are down 0-2 to the Blue Jays in the American League Division Series, but they're not out just yet.
The Yankees have a steep hill to climb after falling behind 0-2 in the ALDS, but it's not impossible for them to rally, survive and advance.If the Yankees don’t win each of their next three games against Toronto, they’ll watch the rest of the postseason from home.
It would be the 16th year in a row where the Yankees have failed to be the last team standing in October. For a franchise that holds championships as the standard, that’s not a drought ... it’s an eternity. As insurmountable as their deficit in this series may seem, against an opponent that has had their number all year long, there’s a clear path for the Yankees to rally and overcome this 0-2 hole. Here are a few reasons why Yankees fans shouldn’t give up on this team just yet with a must-win Game 3 looming on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium:The odds are certainly against the Yankees this week, but they wouldn’t be the first team to win in the Division Series after falling behind 0-2. In fact, the 2017 Yankees are the most recent club to lose their first two Division Series games on the road and still manage to advance. That was against the Cleveland Indians in Aaron Judge’s rookie year. They won two games at home and then took care of business in a decisive Game 5 back in Cleveland. “We had a wild Wild Card Game and then going to Cleveland and lose those first two against them,” Judge recalled after Sunday’s loss in Toronto. “They were division champs that year too, just coming off of an appearance in the World Series. We came back home, had another tough Game 3, little pitching duel, but came out on the other side. We’ve got experience. We’ve got guys in here who have been to the World Series, been in some tough moments, backs against the wall, especially all season long. Gotta show up and do our thing.” Those ’17 Yankees are one of only three teams within the current 2-2-1 Division Series format to come back from an 0-2 road deficit. Out of 34 tries, that’s an 8.8 percent clip., only 10 of the 90 teams to fall behind 0-2 in any postseason round in playoff history have won that series. But these Yankees do have experience with their backs against the wall. They played in a slew of must-win ballgames down the stretch in the regular season and, of course, came back from their crushing loss against the Red Sox to open the Wild Card Series last week, winning two elimination games in a row to move on. There’s no shortage of confidence within the Yankees’ clubhouse. They truly believe their battle-tested group is capable of making this happen, regardless of how dominant the Blue Jays have been so far in this Division Series showdown. “We’re ready to go,” said ace Max Fried, who took the loss in Game 2 in Toronto. “Obviously, we had a rough showing here, and obviously we’d rather be up 2-0 than down 2-0, but we have a lot of lot of faith in this club. If there’s anyone that can win three in a row, we did down the stretch, and we believe in each other here.”The Yankees have been outscored 23-8 so far in this series. The Blue Jays have out-homered the Yankees 8-1, while striking out only seven times. This is the first time in franchise history where the Yankees have allowed 10-plus runs in back-to-back playoff games . Still, regardless of who the Yankees were facing, they didn’t go down without a fight in Game 2. Giancarlo Stanton has beenand he finally started lifting those rockets off the ground, finding outfield grass. Rice and Judge, who is hitting .444 in the playoffs so far, had two hits and Cody Bellinger swatted his first homer in almost a month. It’s hard to envision the Yankees pulling this off unless Judge erupts — he’s been limited to singles for much of the postseason so far — and the lineup as a whole needs to start slugging more often. That’s certainly in there. Just look at the Yankees’ track record from the regular season.As Stanton said in the Yankees’ quiet clubhouse on Sunday night, it’s important to take this one game at a time. “Can’t look to the whole series,” Stanton said. “You go one at a time, execute each inning, execute each pitch, and not look too far ahead.” If that’s the case, the Yankees have to feel good about the pitching matchups over these next two days at Yankee Stadium. All-Star Carlos Rodón, who was significantly better at home this year, toes the slab in Game 3 against righty Shane Bieber. The Yankees don’t have great career numbers against Bieber, but the former Cy Young Award winner with Cleveland was very susceptible to hard contact and the home run ball late in the season with the Blue Jays. With Toronto positioned to likely roll with a bullpen game in a potential Game 4, the Yankees again have the advantage with Cam Schlittler scheduled to start. If heand both Gausman and Yesavage are brutal draws for a possible Game 5, anything can happen in a winner-take-all contest. Besides, like Rice mentioned with the Blue Jays’ bullpen, any experience is productive. You have to figure the Yankees will put together better results in a second time through against those splitter-heavy righties in Game 5 — the same logic applies, in theory, with Toronto’s best relievers . “Yeah, 100 percent,” Stanton said of making improvements for a second shot at Yesavage. “We can make good adjustments to see him another time around. Obviously, we know that’s what we have to do to win the series. But that would be looking ahead. We still got to win Tuesday first and get there.” Keep in mind that while the Blue Jays have been as good as any other team at Rogers Centre this year , they’re beatable everywhere else. Toronto had a sub-.500 record on the road while the Yankees were similarly dominant in the Bronx . With two wins in a row at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees would flip every ounce of momentum back in their favor and the pressure right back on the Blue Jays.Every single North Jersey town’s sports claim to fame, Part 2Where to get cheapest, last-minute tickets for Blue Jays vs. Yankees, Game 3 ALDS at Yankee StadiumIf you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Yankees try to explain huge Blue Jays advantage: ‘Tough combinations’The Yankees' 10-1 loss to the Blue Jays in Saturday's ALDS opener has them 1-7 in Toronto this season.
Read more »
Yankees vs. Blue Jays Game 2 Betting Preview: Starters, Odds & PredictionThe New York Yankees get right back into the dirt and grass at the ballpark for Game 2 of the American League Division Division Series (ALDS) for the first
Read more »
Blue Jays Superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Once Again Set the Tone Against YankeesThe Toronto Blue Jays got a special performance from their superstar when they needed it the most.
Read more »
Yankees vs. Blue Jays Game 1 ALDS prediction: MLB odds, picks, best bets SundayMax Fried will help lead the Yankees past the host Blue Jays in Game 2 of their ALDS series on Sunday, Stitches predicts.
Read more »
'It Looked Ugly': MLB On FOX Crew React to Yankees After Blue Jays' Big WinThe Blue Jays got a huge win against the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS. Here's how Derek Jeter and the MLB on FOX crew reacted to the 10-1 result.
Read more »
How to watch Yankees-Blue Jays ALDS Game 2 live for free: Time, streamingThe Blue Jays took Game 1 of the series, 10-1.
Read more »