When USA TODAY Sports reached out to ESPN, a representative declined to comment.
In his playing days, Kidd was a nine-time All-Defensive player, a 10-time All-Star and was the 1994-95 Rookie of the Year. He spent time with the Phoenix Suns, the then-New Jersey Nets and played one season with the New York Knicks. He was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks and won the 2011 NBA championship with them. He coached the Mavericks from the 2021-22 season until this spring when he and the team "mutually agreed to part ways."
Kidd, 53, has twice been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: as a player in 2018 and again in 2025 as a member of Team USA's gold-medal winning 2008 Olympic team.
Kidd first became a head coach with one season at the helm of the Brooklyn Nets with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry on the roster. He had a stint with the Milwaukee Bucks but was fired midway through his fourth season there. He also spent time as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers where he helped guide the team to the 2020 NBA championship in the Bubble.
The 2026-27 NBA season tips off on Oct. 20 with three games. The Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons face off in an afternoon tilt, followed by an evening doubleheader which begins with LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers visiting the defending champion New York Knicks. Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs host two-time consecutive Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in a rematch of the Western Conference Finals to cap things off.
The team announced that Max Strus suffered a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot during Sunday's preseason game. He will be re-evaluated in four weeks, which means he will miss the start of the season.
This is a rough start for Strus, who missed the majority of last season with a foot injury (a fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his left foot, which required surgery). He returned for a dozen games at the end of the season for the Cavaliers, then had a larger role for them in the playoffs, which prompted the Clippers to send a pick to Washington to obtain him as part of a five-team trade this summer that saw Los Angeles send out John Collins.
Look for rookie Keaton Wagler, as well as Gradey Dick, to get more run with Strus out.
As noted by Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points, the Clippers have what would be a solid five-man regular-season rotation lineup all out injured already: Jordan Miller (shoulder surgery), Bradley Beal (knee), Strus, Brandon Ingram (partially torn Achilles) and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot). Four of them — Miller, Strus, Ingram and Niederhauser — are all expected to miss the start of the season.
The Knicks played their first game since winning Game 5 of the NBA Finals, as the starters shook off some rust and the bench fought to earn minutes in a 120-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Here are some takeaways...
-- Mike Brown went with the starting lineup that won the NBA Finals on Monday night: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns. The Sixers and Nick Nurse took a different approach as LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid all sat out; leaving him with VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown as the only regular-season starters in the lineup.
-- Former Knick Ariel Hukporti, who signed with Philadelphia over the summer, also started for his new team. Unfortunately for Hukporti, the big man took an awkward fall in the first quarter and grabbed for his ankle. Knicks and Sixers players gathered around him and helped him to the locker room. He did not return to the game.
-- Andre Drummond, Landry Shamet, Miles McBride, and Tyler Kolek were the first four players off the bench for Brown's group. Shamet picked up where he left off in the playoffs, making two threes right away.
Philadelphia led 33-32 after the first quarter as Brown led the way with a game-high 13 points. Anunoby played the most minutes out of the New York starters (10) and was second in points (six) behind Brunson (eight).
-- Brown played more of the bench in the second quarter, with Mohamed Diawara and Jordan Clarkson entering for the first time. The back-and-forth game continued as Brown and Caleb Love scored eight straight to put the Sixers up 58-51 and force a New York timeout with 4:29 left in the half. Philly's young guards continued to attack with Edgecombe converting the and-one layup over James Wiseman to go up double digits.
The Knicks were outscored 39-26 in the second quarter as Love nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer, taking a 72-58 lead into the half. New York allowed Philadelphia to shoot 53 percent from the field and 46 percent from three (11-for-24). Brunson and Anunoby were tied for the team-high with 12 points each, while Brown had 22 points for his new team.
-- The bench started the second half as Brunson and Co.'s night was done early, as was Brown's for Philly. New York's shooting struggles continued without their starters, failing to score a field goal for five-plus minutes toward the end of the third quarter and trailing, 93-79, heading into the fourth.
-- Overall, NY shot 38 percent from the field and 20 percent from three (8-for-41). Shamet led the bench with 10 points, while Diawara had eight points in 17 minutes. Fighting for a backup center role, Wiseman had eight points and five rebounds in nine minutes while Tony Bradley had two points in six minutes. Drummond scored six points with five rebounds and three blocks against his old team.
It’s a line from the TV show Ted Lasso, of course. And whether you’re a Dallas Mavericks fan, or an FC Richmond fan, you understand.
The Dallas Mavericks were in the Finals just 838 days ago. That season was full of the kind of playoff moments you tell your grandchildren about.
Will you tell your grandchildren about the time Luka Dončić absolutely cooked Rudy Gobert on an isolation 3 to win a playoff game? I will.
Then the Celtics came along and made the Mavs look a little like Rudy Gobert trying to guard on the perimeter.
As a fan, you were likely devastated by the Luka trade. Then Anthony Davis gave two quarters of perfection, and suddenly hope was putting on a Beyoncé concert at the American Airlines Center.
And then… many fans expanded their sports-injury vocabulary.
Next, just when all hope felt lost, the Mavs, with a 1.8 percent chance, won the NBA lottery with a generational stud at the top of the class. Cooper Flagg arrived on a team that, at least in theory, was supposed to be competing for a playoff spot. Hope is all fans had last year — and all Nico Harrison had in his roster construction. It didn’t take long for the positivity to turn to complete darkness. Anthony Davis couldn’t stay healthy, there was continuous turmoil that led to Nico finally getting fired and there were casualties all around.
Now, a new regime has come into power. The Mavs certainly have some new energy. There’s a generational prospect entering his second season with an extra inch at his disposal. And, despite everything fans have been through, that dangerous little feeling is starting to creep back in.
Hope.
Are you ready to buy in again? Because there’s something else we learned from Ted Lasso: It’s not actually the hope that kills you. It’s the lack of hope. However, maybe Mavs fans should reconsider what they’re hoping for.
This is not the year to hope for the Larry O’Brien Trophy — or the NBA Cup — for that matter. That’s not what this season is about. The Mavs are building. The team’s average age is under 25, and there are plenty of players who are still figuring out exactly what they can become. This can be a fun team without being a contender. Maybe it’s about finding reasons to believe that the next great Mavericks team is taking shape right in front of us.
Here are five things that can provide real hope this year, with a meter to show how logical this hope is:
Let’s start with the obvious one.
Cooper Flagg takes a massive leap
Hope Meter:🔥🔥🔥🔥 4/5
Cooper Flagg is a Dallas Mav.
And for a franchise that has spent the last few years making many question the basketball gods, that feels like a pretty good place to start.
Fans get to watch this 19-year-old with extraordinary expectations figure out what kind of NBA player he’s going to become. Now, can he make that second -year jump?
For this hope to become reality, Cooper Flagg needs to, become an above-average 3-point shooter, assert himself as floor general at times and be transcendent at defense.
Kyrie provides nightly highlights
Hope Meter: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥5/5
Let’s not overlook the impact of having a healthy Irving back. This offseason, Masai Ujiri quoted Kevin Durant in says “there’s only one Kyrie Irving walking around in the world.”
That one Kyrie Irving bleeds blue these days, and provides electric energy that all basketball fans know too well. Even in losses, fans get to see Irving hitting transition 3-pointers, making sick left-handed hook shots at the buzzer, and cooking younger NBA stars that think they can come at the King of Handles. If Irving is the Irving that Mavs fans have come to know and love, then the games are must-watch — win or lose.
Young pieces become a young core
HOPE METER: 🔥🔥🔥 3/5
The Mavs took some swings on reclamation projects this off-season — and it’s not likely all the swings connect, but if a few do, the Mavs could have a real core.
The core candidates are Zaccharie Risacher, Max Christie, Morez Johnson Jr., Sergio de Larrea, Tarik Biberović, and Marcus Sasser. Maybe a couple of them take a massive leap. Maybe someone surprises us (Jett Howard). Maybe someone we thought would be important turns out not to be part of the long-term picture.
That’s the fun of a building season. Every game and gives us a little more information, and deeper into the season, there could be some real answers here — or more questions.
Dereck Lively II becomes a healthy top 100 NBA player
Hope Meter: 🔥🔥🔥 3/5
Ooooh, this is a dangerous one. And yes, the hope is still high, but don’t get too close to the fire, you might get burned. Fans will always remember who Dereck Lively II was in the finals run, with Lively’s big hair flopping around, creating chaos, grabbing boards and being a master facilitator.
Fans thought the Mavs finally had their forever center, but injury after injury has taken that away. This is a contract year, and it would be hard to question Lively’s dedication and work ethic.
The future is taking shape
Hope Meter: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 5/5
Maybe this is the biggest reason to be hopeful. The Mavericks don’t have to win the championship this year.
They don’t even have to convince that they’re one piece away from winning anything. nThis season can simply be about finding out what they have. What does Flagg become? Who fits alongside him? What does this coaching staff bring out in the roster?
Those questions are worth the hope they bring. It turns out it’s not the hope that kills you. It’s living for too long without any. And maybe this season, it’s about what you hope for.
Brooks led the NBA in technical fouls last season with 17.
In Monday’s game, Brooks was guarding Pistons forward John Collins in the paint with his usual physicality. He extended his forearm and made physical contact with Collins, who reacted in a “you see this” fashion with his hands upward.
On the same possession, Collins got an offensive rebound over Brooks, who started reaching for the ball and making more contact by reaching around Collins from behind.
Collins responded by facing Brooks and putting his hand in Brooks’ face with the ball.
They initially received double technical fouls. After review, Collins was called for a flagrant one penalty. Brooks went to the line and split two free throws.
Brooks is in his second season with the Suns while Collins is in his first with the Pistons.
The Suns had a 68-50 halftime lead.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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HONOLULU, HI - OCTOBER 4: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball during the game against the LA Clippers during the 2026 NBA Preseason game on October 4, 2026 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Jay Metzger/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Golden State Warriors lost their preseason opener on Sunday in Honolulu, falling 104-101 to the LA Clippers in a game that came down to the wire. If you want to dismiss the results because regulars don’t play as much in the preseason, well … that doesn’t help Golden State’s case, since they trailed by 12 points at halftime, before pulling Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Al Horford.
Instead, try this as a reason to dismiss preseason results: they just don’t matter. And who better to make that point than Curry, who reflected on a fun and productive week in Hawaii, as the team packed up and prepared to return to California.
Steph Curry on his biggest takeaway from the entire training camp in Hawaii:
“We had a very impressive luau at our hotel that included some fire. I don’t want to be, I don’t know the term, but the fire spinning and the tribute dances, travel dances, and all that type of stuff,… pic.twitter.com/dUrh3AQL39
“I’ve been in this league 17, or going on 18 years,” the two-time MVP said, after stating that a team luau was the highlight of the first week of camp. “I don’t remember a single preseason game in terms of the outcome, other than Lindy Waters making a buzzer-beater here two years ago.”
A reporter then reminded Curry of a special preseason moment about Kobe Bryant, to which he responded, “That’s also a great one. So we got two. Two out of however many. So we’re not gonna get bogged down by the results of the game.”
It’s generally the consensus that preseason results don’t matter, and there are plenty of data points each year backing that up. There are, admittedly, also plenty of examples suggesting that the preseason is a decent barometer. The Dubs went 6-2 in preseason before winning their first title in 2014-15, and 6-1 two years later, when they won the championship again, before going a league-best 5-0 prior to their shocking 2021-22 championship.
Then again, they went just 2-2 ahead of the title-winning 2017-18 season, and they had a losing 3-4 record in 2015-16, before starting the year with a 24-game winning streak. So yeah … safe to say it doesn’t really matter.
The Buffalo Sabres have a five-game homestand to start the season, which began with a 4-3 comeback victory over Chicago on Saturday. Head coach Lindy Ruff started Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in both games, but with veteran Alex Lyon on the mend, he indicated that he would be looking to get third-stringer Colten Ellis a game in short order.
That appears to the Sabres next game against Minnesota on Tuesday, which is the one-year anniversary of the St. Louis Blues draftee being claimed by the Sabres off of waivers. Ellis, who turned 26 on Monday, practiced in the starter’s net at KeyBank Center on Monday morning and is likely to get the start against the Wild, who are a 2-0 to start the season.
"It's what you worked for all summer, to finally get to showcase what you worked on, and i'm super excited to play for everybody in here and I'm really looking forward to it." Ellis said. “"Looking back a year ago , it's pretty crazy. With all that's happened in the past year. I'm super grateful for the opportunity, and not that I was expecting it or anything, but to be able to get picked up and play the whole season here was a dream come true, and you're just kind of living the dream and doing it day in and day out."
Noah Ostlund signs eight-year contract extension
The club made a few line combo changes on Monday, swapping Jiri Kulich from the fourth to third line, where he centered Peyton Krebs and Konsta Helenius, while shifting Ryan McLeod down to play center Beck Malenstyn and Sam Carrick. Ruff also tinkered with the struggling power play, moving Josh Doan off of the top unit in favor of Noah Ostlund.
In ex-Sabres news, the family matter that resulted in Bowen Byram missing his return to Buffalo on Saturday was finally explained, as the blueliner’s wife gave birth to twin baby girls on Saturday afternoon.
The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled defenseman Juuso Valimaki from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.
The 27 year old was one of the final cuts from Canes training camp and has been one of Chicago's top defenders since joining the organization back in January.
Valimaki has 271 games of NHL experience, recording 11 goals and 72 points in that span. Charles Alexis Legault was reassigned by the Hurricanes on Saturday, leaving the team with only six defensemen as Mike Reilly slotted in against the Flyers.
Carolina is in Montreal on Tuesday to take on the Canadiens and so the 6-foot-2 Finnish lefty could potentially make his team debut then, or he might just have been recalled for depth purposes.
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PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 5: Ariel Hukporti #55 of the Philadelphia 76ers boxes out during the game against the New York Knicks during a 2026 NBA Preseason game on October 5, 2026 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The vibes were high entering the Sixers’ preseason opener Monday vs. the New York Knicks, but the excitement was quickly dampened.
Ariel Hukporti, starting while Joel Embiid sits out, appeared to hurt his leg early in the first quarter while attempting to contest Karl-Anthony Towns. The former Knick seemed to know it was bad right away, telling his teammates to call a timeout. He was helped to the locker room without putting any weight on his right leg.
This is potentially a huge blow for the Sixers. The team signed Hukporti on the second day of free agency to compete for backup big minutes behind Embiid. With Adem Bona already out with a foot sprain, it felt like a big opportunity to establish himself. The 24-year-old big man showed out during the Blue X White Scrimmage over the weekend and was off to a nice start Monday.
With Embiid sitting, Bona still nursing his injury, Dominick Barlow out with a back issue and Exhibit 10 signee Tacko Fall dealing with a hip strain, Jabari Walker was the only player active who resembled a center. Nick Nurse even experiemnted with using Dean Wade as a small-ball five.
The New York Rangers have placed Matthew Robertson on waivers.
Robertson was held out of practice on Monday due to roster management reasons, as it was quickly revealed that he was waived by the team.
Selected in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Blueshirts, Robertson spent multiple seasons playing in the American Hockey League for the Hartford Wolf Pack before finally getting his NHL chance during the 2025-26 season.
The 25-year-old played in 72 games for the Rangers last season, as he finally seemed to cave out a consistent role.
However, 2026 fifth-overall pick Alberts Šmits stood out throughout training camp and took over Robertson’s position as the Rangers’ third-pair left-handed defensemen.
Robertson made the Rangers’ opening-night roster out of training camp, but he has been scratched for all four of New York’s games to kick off the 2026-27 campaign.
With Robertson waived, it’s safe to say that the Rangers have confidence continuing to use Šmits moving forward and he’ll remain in the NHL barring any major regression in his play.
Joe Veleno also suffered a lower-body injury during the Rangers’ Sunday night game against the Utah Mammoth, which may have led to Robertson’s waiving since Veleno’s availability is in jeopardy and the Blueshirts only have three active centers on the roster.
What’s abundantly clear, however, is that there’s a lot of work to do for the franchise to keep its star locked up in the long term, and the prospect that he may be playing his final months as a Knick are suddenly a real possibility.
Towns, the 30-year-old All-Star center who helped propel the Knicks to their first championship in 53 years, is eligible for a four-year extension. He had hoped to ink it before the start of the season. Yet, Towns expressed unfiltered pessimism Monday, Oct. 5 to reporters in Philadelphia, indicating just how far apart the two sides are.
“It don’t look good,” Towns told reporters when asked if he thought both sides could agree to a deal before the regular season opener October 20 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Towns was even more candid later when asked if he thought he deserved a new deal.
“No (expletive), Sherlock,” he said. “I just won a championship. You’d think it would be pretty easy, unless you guys think I have something else to prove.”
Towns was instrumental in New York’s historic postseason run. Aside from NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Jalen Brunson, Towns was easily the second-most important player on the Knicks, and it all started after New York lost two consecutive games in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks, to fall into a 1-2 series hole.
Knicks coach Mike Brown then tweaked the offense to run through Towns, instead of Brunson; Towns took on increased ball-handling and play-making duties, allowing Brunson to play off-ball and tactically choose his spots. The move unlocked a new dimension for New York’s offense, whose +283 point differential smashed an all-time record.
But, to illustrate that point further, the Knicks were particularly dominant when Towns was on the floor. In his 578 postseason minutes, New York outscored opponents by 258 points, giving Towns the best individual plus-minus in a single postseason in the play-by-play era.
But, Knicks owner James Dolan has stressed multiple times that the Knicks will avoid triggering the punitive second apron, which limits financial flexibility. It also gives Knicks president Leon Rose a hard line on how much they can offer their stars. In a parallel situation, this also complicates the negotiations with forward Josh Hart.
According to ESPN, the most recent Knicks offer to Towns was worth $200 million, which is well short – more than $75 million short – of what he’s eligible to earn.
Now, none of this precludes the Knicks and Towns from eventually getting a deal done. In the NBA, like in all major sports leagues constrained by a salary cap, things get said in public that can sway perception. This is how high-profile negotiations sometimes work.
Towns and his representatives are trying to extract as much value as they can within New York’s financial landscape. Dolan and the Knicks are trying to get their stars to play on team-friendly deals. At some point, for this partnership to continue, compromise is mandatory.
“Simply put: I want to do something that can keep this team together and work with the Knicks and also values me,” he said. “None of those things have come close to happening.”
This isn’t exactly what a team looking to defend its title wants to be dealing with, but this is simply the system in place with the second apron to contend with.
The immediate concern for the Knicks, at least in the short term, is whether this will affect the team’s play.
Towns has plenty of experience handling adversity; while the Knicks were slogging through their schedule in the first half of last season, his name frequently popped up in trade rumors. Towns eventually responded with that postseason run – the best basketball of his career.
Whispers of trade talks are one thing, but if a player feels undervalued, it’s an entirely different issue to navigate. And the interesting thing is that those trade talks could get even louder.
Towns has a $61 million player option next season. While that is a lot of money, he may feel that he could earn even more on the open market. The Knicks, understandably, would not want to let a player like Towns, the premier stretch five in the NBA, hit the open market without getting anything in return. And a player like Towns – as we saw with the blockbuster that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat – would net a ton of assets.
So where does all of that leave us?
Right now, it’s a game of chicken. And while Knicks fans shouldn’t necessarily be concerned as of right now, these next few weeks and months will be pretty telling. Because the Feb. 11, 2027 trading deadline isn’t all that far away.
After a strong start to the 2026–27 season that saw him register four goals and two assists in his first four games as part of the Vancouver Canucks, Paul Cotter has been named the NHL’s third star of the week. He currently leads the NHL in goals scored alongside Edmonton Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard and Utah Mammoth forward Nick Schmaltz.
Cotter joined the Canucks via free-agency signing during the 2026 off-season, coming to Vancouver after two seasons with the New Jersey Devils and three with the Vegas Golden Knights before that. He scored a career-high of 16 goals in his first season with the Devils back in 2024–25.
Two of the four goals Cotter has scored so far came in Vancouver’s first game of the regular season, a 6–5 overtime win against the Oilers on September 29. He is one of only six players in Canucks history to record a multi-goal game in their debut.
Also named to the NHL’s Stars of the Week list are New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who scored a goal and posted a 1.67 GAA, and Bouchard, who has scored four goals and four assists in Edmonton’s first four games of the year.
Oct 1, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Paul Cotter (47) celebrates his goal against the Edmonton Oilers in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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Oct 4, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Mike Yastrzemski (18), outfielder Michael Harris II (23) and outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) celebrate after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in game two of the NLDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Happy Monday, all. How are we faring after last night’s split?
The National League Division Series has had its fair share of drama. While we were hand-wringing about Chris Sale and the prospect of a bullpen game (where we need not have worried, because Ray Kerr is a hero?), Brewers/Padres has been unreal. A potential game-tying home run in Game 1 foiled by… the closed roof (but maybe not, as the analytics say it only would’ve been a homer in Houston).
And a two-out, two-strike, two-RBI walkoff single off Mason Miller to bring the series back to San Diego with the Friars down 0-2. Gut punches, for sure. There truly isn’t anything like postseason baseball stress.
The AL is back in action tonight with the White Sox up 1-0 over the Cleveland Guardians. The Rays one-hit the Yankees and only needed a Jonathan Aranda home run to take their lead in the series.
I will leave you with this interview Brent Suter did with former Brave Kevin Pillar and co-host Cody Allen. He chats about the team, the “ace of all aces” in Chris Sale, how underratedness of Matt Olson, and much more.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 02: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees pitches during the first inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 02, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Aaron Boone is sure Cam Schlittler is built for moments like getting the start against the Rays in the ALDS.
During his conversation with the media ahead of Game 2 on Monday, the Yankees’ skipper responded to comments about Schlittler’s confidence when the lights are brightest. The Division Series was a bit bumpier for him in 2025 than the Wild Card Series showdown with Boston, so he’ll look to put that behind him. The 25-year-old righty will be making his second career ALDS start and will look to continue his current postseason hot streak as New York faces Tampa Bay.
“You never know a result is going to be in a given game, but he’s certainly equipped to handle it,” Boone stated. “He’s got a ton of confidence and is fearless in these spots.”
During his previous postseason outing, Schlittler barred the Red Sox offense from gaining an edge in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, throwing six and a third scoreless innings and racking up 10 strikeouts. It’s no surprise that he showed up and shelled out, following the discourse behind his rivalry with New England fans and media outlets.
The Yankees will have the opportunity to head back to the Bronx, with hopes of a split series, and have Max Fried take the mound for the Game 3 start against Tampa Bay. Boone also announced that Carlos Rodón would get the nod in a possible Game 4 at Yankee Stadium, which New York would very much like to force tonight rather than waiting until Wednesday.
You won’t want to miss a second of Schlittler’s outing as the Yankees face off against the Rays in Game 2 of the Division Series Monday at 8 p.m. EST.
