Category: Baseball

CLEVELAND — Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians was postponed because of rain Friday night.

Major League Baseball was hoping there would be a three-hour window of dry weather to get the game in, but the showers never let up.

“It never cleared out the way they were hoping. It started to get later in the hour, and MLB and I think both clubs did everything they could to try to get it in,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Made the most sense, like, at this point and this hour, with no guarantee that there wasn’t another band coming.”

The teams will resume their playoff series Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, with Game 5 also at Progressive Field on Sunday at 5 p.m., and Game 6, if necessary, on Monday at 8 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“We knew how many days ago that today was going to be a challenge. Numerous weather calls, numerous back and forths, and ultimately MLB decided we needed to wait it out,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Obviously it’s an important game, and we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to play the games when they’re scheduled. But MLB ultimately decided to wait this one out.”

It is the first time an ALCS game has been postponed since 2019, when the New York Yankees were hosting the Houston Astros.

The Guardians have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after Petey Halpin’s two-run homer propelled them to a 3-2 victory in Game 3 on Thursday afternoon.

Both teams will stick with their scheduled Game 4 starters from Friday. Cleveland will go with a bullpen game, with Shawn Armstrong being the opener. Nick Martinez will pitch for Tampa Bay.

It will be Armstrong’s fifth appearance this postseason. The right-hander has allowed only one hit in 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts.

Armstrong thought his season was done in late July when he strained a calf muscle, but he returned during the final week of the regular season.

Armstrong was drafted by Cleveland in the 18th round in 2011 and made his big league debut four years later. He was traded to Seattle in 2017 and spent time with four other organizations, including Tampa Bay, before signing with the Guardians this season.

“I think I said it to (Erik) Sabrowski, whenever we were standing in the outfield in Game 2 in Tampa — obviously I played here, I got drafted here, coming back here and being able to be in this situation is — words can’t describe it,” Armstrong said before Game 3 on Thursday.

Martinez started Game 3 of the Division Series against the New York Yankees. He went 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The right-hander was 15-6 during the regular season and ranked sixth in the AL with a 3.10 ERA. He was third in the AL with 26 starts in which he allowed three runs or fewer.

“It’s just like my starts throughout the year; it’s going to be a dogfight going in, just to see how many outs I can get for this team. It’s important,” he said Thursday.

The teams might have to play the final four games of the series without a day off, culminating in a potential Game 7 on Tuesday. That could be welcome news for the Milwaukee Brewers, who have a week off before they open the World Series at home on Oct. 23 against the Cleveland-Tampa Bay winner.

Milwaukee is in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1982 after completing a four-game sweep of the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series on Thursday night.

“We’ve got four games in a row. We have an opportunity to win some games and move on. And that’s all we’re focused on,” Vogt said.

Shohei Ohtani wants to bea two-way player again next season.

What he said was expected. 

How he said it was worrisome.

“I intend on doing everything,” he said in Japanese.

Is next season destined to end the way this one did for the Dodgers, with a broken-down Ohtani rendering their lineup incapable of generating the offense required to return to the World Series?

Not necessarily.

As Ohtani catalogued his frustrations from his injury-plagued season after the Dodgers were swept out of the playoffs by the Brewers on Thursday night, one particular failure seemed to bother him more than the others.

“I wasn’t able to pitch in the postseason,” he said. 

This was either the best news the Dodgers could have received or an early death knell for their next season.

Depends on what Ohtani does to improve his chances of pitching next October.

Does he modify his in-season pitching schedule and accept some form of load management?

That would give him a chance, not only to pitch in games that matter most, but also to remain the difference-making hitter the Dodgers need him to be.

Or does he simply change his offseason workout regimen in hopes that he can strengthen his body to where it can withstand pitching and hitting from Opening Day to the last game of the World Series?

Considering how quickly his season was derailed and the effects those injuries had on him as a hitter, that plan would be an invitation for disaster.

Ohtani turns 33 next year.

He didn’t specify what he was thinking, other than that he would start deliberating a course of action now that the Dodgers were in their offseason.

The ambiguity that was both a source of optimism and concern was the result of how Ohtani addressed reporters.

A horde of journalists from the United States, Japan and who knows where else formed a semicircle around Ohtani, who fielded inquiries in a scattershot question-and-answer session that lasted about seven minutes.

Generally speaking, the questions he was asked were lacking in detail — or, in some cases, the details were lost as they passed through Ohtani’s interpreter. When Ohtani said something noteworthy — the statements quoted above, for example — more pointed questions on the subject couldn’t be asked because another journalist wanted to ask about something entirely different.

For example, when Ohtani acknowledged that he could undergo offseason surgery but didn’t say what body part he might have to repair, there was no follow-up question on the subject. Some bozo Japanese reporter at the front of the mob asked an unnecessarily verbose question about what he, Shohei Ohtani, saw in the Brewers that the Dodgers were lacking.

(Ohtani was known to be dealing with discomfort in his right arm and left knee when he was placed on the injured list in September. That was probably still the case in the playoffs. When manager Dave Roberts was asked what was bothering Ohtani before Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, he replied, “It’s everything. It’s the upper body. It’s the knee.”)

While Ohtani left unanswered questions about his health status, and perhaps deliberately so, he made it a point to expound on his desire to be a two-way player again.

He spoke of his disappointment of not being able to take the mound in the playoffs, as well as at the end of the regular season.

“That’s a point of dissatisfaction,” Ohtani said.

He continued, “Of course, I feel like I want to continue [playing both ways]. Because of that, I want to have a good offseason.”

Right after saying he planned on “doing everything,” Ohtani said, “I want to do my best so that I can have a better season [than this season].”

Effort alone won’t make that happen, of course, and this is where the Dodgers have to step in. Rather than continue to be his servants, they have to be his partners. 

Practicality doesn’t appeal to Ohtani. Dreams do.

So sell him on a dream.

Ohtani on the mound in the World Series, perhaps in a Game 7. But unlike in 2025 when the Dodgers were playing the Blue Jays and Ohtani lasted just 2 ⅓ innings, this time he is the winning pitcher.

The Dodgers can get him there, maybe by giving him more time between starts, maybe by holding him out as a pitcher in the early stages of the season.

Ohtani doesn’t sound as if he has a firm plan in place, which means the Dodgers have an opportunity to shape his thinking. They have to take advantage of it.

Rocco Baldelli joined the Dodgers front office last December after the Twins fired him as their manager.

Baldelli reunited with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who he built a relationship with when his career was cut short with the Rays and became a special assistant to Friedman in Tampa’s front office.

Baldelli hasn’t managed since he was fired by Minnesota in the middle of the 2025 season with a year remaining on his contract. Now, it appears there might be an opportunity for Baldelli to return to MLB as a manager with the Mariners.

Seattle currently has a vacant managerial spot after the team forced former skipper Dan Wilson to announce that he and the organization were parting ways.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Baldelli is among one of the many candidates Seattle is evaluating. Joe Espada, Brandon Hyde and former Dodgers catcher David Ross are also potential options to be the next Mariners manager.

In his first season with the Twins, Baldelli led the team to 101 wins in 2019. He also led the franchise to its first postseason series victory in 19 years during the 2023 campaign.

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Baldelli had a 527-505 record (.511 winning percentage) in seven seasons with the Twins, including three American League Central titles. He was named the AL Manager of the Year in 2019.

There’s a chance Baldelli’s first season in the Dodgers front office, might be his only season with LA if the Mariners choose to hire him as their next manager.

The Dodgers will have a new look in 2027.

Yes, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts will still be in the lineup, but the roster will likely feature a much different set of faces than the 2026 group of Dodgers. One player that won’t be back with the team is Miguel Rojas, who confirmed NLCS Game 4 was the final game of his career.

The veteran infielder took to social media to thank his teammates for the wonderful journey he’s been on since his return to LA in 2023.

“All I can say is THANK YOU for changing my life ,” Rojas said.

“I will forever be grateful and so proud that I wore Dodger blue and represented this community every single day.

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“Love you Dodger Family .-

“Miggy Ro .”

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Rojas made his Major League debut with the Dodgers in 2014, but was traded to Miami ahead of the 2015 season. He was re-acquired by LA in 2023, a season before the Dodgers went on to win the first of their back-to-back World Series.

Rojas was a central piece to the Dodgers’ curation of a tight-knit clubhouse. The 37-year-old was viewed as a leader of the team and praised for his defensive prowess as an experienced infielder. Rojas etched his name into Dodgers postseason history when he hit the game-tying home run in the ninth inning of World Series Game 7 against the Blue Jays.

While Rojas won’t be on the Dodgers roster next season, the culture he helped build remains.

One half of the 2026 World Series is set. The Milwaukee Brewers will represent the National League in the Fall Classic, advancing to their first Series since 1982, when they were an American League team. The Brewers were utterly dominant in sweeping the two-time defending champion Dodgers, rallying back from deficits in all four games by coming up with clutch hits at every turn. They’re going to be a tough customer for whichever AL team has to face them.

We won’t know which team that is until at least tomorrow. The Guardians carry a 2-1 ALCS lead over the Rays into tonight’s Game 4, having delivered three well-pitched games in which they’ve held Tampa Bay to three or fewer runs each time. Cleveland is firing on all cylinders right now, making even the Rays — who had the AL’s best record this season — look vulnerable. The Guardians would love to finish off this series with wins tonight and tomorrow at Progressive Field to keep this series from going back to Tampa.

Rays at Guardians, 8:00 PM (TBS/HBO Max) — Guardians lead 2-1

RHP Nick Martinez (TB) vs. RHP Shawn Armstrong (CLE)

The Guardians’ rotation is a bit thin behind the dynamic duo of Gavin Williams and Parker Messick, so they’re going with a bullpen game. It’ll be started by the former Oriole Armstrong, who has been lights out in the playoffs so far, retiring 16 of the 17 batters he’s faced. He’ll be tasked with facing the Yandy Díaz/Jonathan Aranda/Junior Caminero trio before the Guardians turn to a bulk reliever, possibly lefty Joey Cantillo or righty Tanner Bibee. That top of the order for the Rays really needs to get things going. Díaz, Aranda, and Caminero are a combined 5-for-34 in this series, including an 0-for-10 from Aranda and seven strikeouts in 11 at-bats by Caminero.

The Rays counter with the veteran Nick Martinez, who had a sensational debut season in Tampa Bay with a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts. The 35-year-old is making just his second career postseason start. His previous one came last week in the ALDS against the Yankees, when he gave up two runs in 3.2 innings. He’ll need to be careful with Chase DeLauter, who has three extra-base hits in 10 at-bats in this series, and a rejuvenated José Ramírez, who is 6-for-12.

Rays lineup:

DH Yandy Díaz
1B Jonathan Aranda
LF Chandler Simpson
3B Junior Caminero
C Liam Hicks
RF Victor Mesa Jr.
CF Jonny DeLuca
2B Richie Palacios
SS Taylor Walls

RHP Nick Martinez

Guardians lineup:

LF Steven Kwan
3B José Ramírez
RF Chase DeLauter
DH Jo Adell
1B Nathaniel Lowe
2B Travis Bazzana
C Patrick Bailey
CF Petey Halpin
SS Brayan Rocchio

RHP Shawn Armstrong

If the weather today seems a little cooler, the air slightly fresher, and that glass of Phoenix tap water marginally less chemically than yesterday, there’s a good reason for this. It’s the first Dodger-free day of post-season baseball since the Rangers beat the Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series. I think we all expected the Brewers to give them a tough fight – they did win more regular season games. But a 4-0 sweep? The much-vaunted Dodgers line-up held to a .185 average and .520 OPS? Very pleasant indeed. Milwaukee now have eight days to cool their heels before the World Series starts next Friday night, against the Rays or Guardians.

Speaking of which… We’re waiting for this one to get under way tonight in Cleveland [insert roof joke here]. Whether it will go on or not, remains to be seen, but on the off-chance it does – here’s your Gameday Thread! If it doesn’t, I imagine we’ll have an early game on what should have been Sunday’s travel day instead.

• Tampa Bay Rays @ Cleveland Guardians (1-2), TBS

So yesterday was the last day where we got two baseball games until next spring, since the Dodgers were kind enough to bow out after just four games. In this series the Guardians are up 2-1 in games, so there are, at least, two games left in this series.

I haven’t checked the weather forecast in Cleveland, there may be rain.

Whoops, now I see that the start of the game will be delayed due to rain. But there is women’s rugby on. I enjoy watching rugby, though I refuse to learn how the scoring works, because, like most sports that started in the UK, the scoring is weird. But, you would be hard pressed to find a sport I won’t watch.

Cricket? No. Auto racing? No. Golf? Absolutely no. Ok, I guess there sports I won’t watch.

Today’s lineups:

I may become a Savanna Banana fan “No bunting, because bunting sucks.” I agree.

Still no word on when the game may start.

On a different topic:

Oh, we know.

Last night the NLCS ended, but we’ve still got plenty of action left on the AL side. In a series that features a pair of top-half teams in terms of Starting Pitcher fWAR, Game Four will feature one team using a starting pitcher who barely struck out one every two innings during the regular season and just a flat-out bullpen game from the other side.

Nick Martinez gets the start for Tampa Bay. Somehow, he accrued a 2.9 fWAR this season while pitching a 2.90 ERA despite a lackluster 11.5% K-BB% and a barely above-league-average 1.10 HR/9, leading to a frightening 4.63 SIERA. Nick has already made one start this postseason, going 3.2 innings and allowing 2 runs in a series-clinching win over the Yankees.

The Guardians have already used Foster Griffin, Parker Messick, and Gavin Williams in this series, so they’re set to ask their bullpen to deliver the penultimate blow against the Rays before potentially cycling all three of those guys through in the back half of the series. Shawn Armstrong will be the first pitcher out of the gate. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tanner Bibee is asked to pitch a few innings; I also wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t actually pitch that long. Steven Vogt has shown a willingness to go to his bullpen very quickly, and with good reason in a postseason that has featured fewer innings from starting pitchers than any I can recall.

Today, the AL could get one step closer to joining its Senior Circuit brother in the World Series. The Brewers finished off a sweep of the Dodgers last night, so they’ll be sitting at home waiting to see who comes out of this one. Game 4 is set for 8 pm in Cleveland, if the weather lets it happen. Rain has already delayed this series once, and rain and intermittent showers are expected as the evening goes on.

The Guardians took Game 3, 3-2, thanks to a two-run homer from Petey Halpin, so they lead the series 2-1. Tampa Bay has never trailed an ALCS 2-1 before. A win tonight would put Cleveland one game away from the World Series. A Rays win sends us back to square one as a best-of-three.

Tampa has fiddled with the lineup a little from Game 4, with Chandler Simpson now hitting third and Junior Caminero in the cleanup spot. Tampa’s starter, Nick Martinez, went 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA in 180 regular season innings. Martinez’s history against Cleveland should make Guardians fans nervous: two starts in the regular season, 13 innings, zero runs. The Rays need him to hold the line because their bats went quiet in Game 3. Díaz, Aranda, and Caminero went a combined 1-for-12, and Caminero struck out four times. Chandler Simpson has been their spark plug so far.

Tampa Bay lineup

1. Yandy Díaz – DH
2. Jonathan Aranda – 1B
3. Chandler Simpson – LF
4. Junior Caminero – 3B
5. Liam Hicks – C
6. Victor Mesa Jr. – RF
7. Jonny DeLuca – CF
8. Richie Palacios – 2B
9. Taylor Walls – SS

Cleveland is running it back with the exact same lineup from Game 3. That’s fine because José Ramírez and Chase DeLauter have been on fire, OPS’ing 1.038 and 1.438 respectively this postseason. Cleveland took its time announcing a starting pitcher, and voila, it is none other than old friend Shawn Armstrong, the right-hander who in three seasons in the Baltimore bullpen posted a 5.34 ERA (was it really that high?). Anyway, this is another Cleveland bullpen game. You might expect Joey Cantillo will probably cover a good chunk of it after Armstrong, and Tanner Bibee and Slade Cecconi are available for bulk outings. Also, Cade Smith has been lights out this postseason, with a 1.00 ERA and 13 strikeouts in nine innings.

Cleveland lineup

1. Steven Kwan – LF
2. José Ramírez – 3B
3. Chase DeLauter – RF
4. Jo Adell – DH
5. Nathaniel Lowe – 1B
6. Travis Bazzana – 2B
7. Patrick Bailey – C
8. Petey Halpin – CF
9. Brayan Rocchio – SS

Last night, the Milwaukee Brewers completed a four-game sweep of the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, clinching the team’s first National League pennant and first World Series appearance in 44 years. According to MLB, Milwaukee became the first team to sweep an opponent in a postseason series one year after that same opponent swept it out of the playoffs.

The Brewers, who are four wins away from their first World Series title, await the winner of the American League Championship Series between the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays. The ALCS has been more competitive, with the Guardians leading 2-1 entering tonight’s Game 4 in rainy and windy Cleveland.

Rays at Guardians (8:00 PM PST)

Based off the first three games, this series looks like it could go the distance. What else would you expect from two scrappy young teams like these two? Both organizations are absolutely desperate for the chance to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy. The Rays are seeking their first World Series title, while the Guardians aim to end MLB’s longest active championship drought.

The visiting Rays will have veteran right-hander Nick Martinez (15-6, 3.10 ERA) taking the ball for this critical contest. The 36-year-old, who turned in a career-best season in his first year with the Rays, will make his second start of the postseason.

Martinez started the third and final Division Series game against the New York Yankees, receiving a no-decision after allowing two runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings. He exited early after being hit by a comebacker. Having avoided a significant injury, the right-hander will look to deliver a quality start and help his team even the ALCS at two games apiece.

Here’s Tampa Bay’s lineup for this evening’s matchup:

The Guardians will counter with a bullpen game. Right-hander Shawn Armstrong, who has yet to allow a run through his first four appearances this postseason, will serve as the opener. Following an inning or two, left-hander Joey Cantillo or right-hander Tanner Bibee will take over for the hosts.

And Cleveland’s starting nine, courtesy of skipper Stephen Vogt:

Update: Game 4 got postponed till tomorrow.

The Cleveland Guardians rode their top arms to a slim 3-2 victory on Thursday, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Gavin Williams and the Guardians did their thing, racking up 13 strikeouts and allowing just two hits on the night. Williams, however, saw his velocity start to plummet beyond 50 pitches in that outing and manager Stephen Vogt got the hook out after just five innings. That’s a little ominous for the Guardians chances in a long series and perhaps in the World Series if they get there, but at this time of year everyone is gassed and leaving it all on the field. They may have just told Williams to air it out, expecting a shorter outing. Either way, he was dominant as long as he was in the game.

The Rays still went toe-to-toe with them in Game 3, so they won’t be feeling down on themselves either. With the final two games, assuming they go seven, in Tampa Bay, they really just need to stay with the Guardians and make sure they bring the series back home. However, that does mean they really need a victory tonight to even the series and avoid the Guardians riding momentum and running away with it.

The Guardians top relief arms are carrying a lot of the load in the series and Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith both pitched on Thursday. So a bullpen game tonight is going to lean on them pretty hard. Probably Martinez isn’t going very deep in this one either. Both managers will be trying to keep their top arms fresh and not waste them in a losing effort, so holding a lead into the middle innings will be huge. For his part, Rays manager Kevin Cash probably doesn’t care either way. Unless they get blown out, he’s got to bring his best arms to bear in any close game and try to square the series.

This has been a pretty entertaining matchup. We’ll probably see another close one tonight.

RHP Nick Martinez (0-0, 4.91 ERA) vs. RHP Shawn Armstrong (0-0, 0.00 ERA) at 8:00 p.m. ET on TBS.

Well, it’s looking like the ALCS will be the only baseball we get to see for a while after the Milwaukee Brewers swept the former two-time World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers out of the Postseason in unceremonious fashion. No worries, though, as the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays have been playing an entertaining brand of baseball so it’ll certainly be interesting to see how this series plays out going forward. Will the Guardians get one step closer to making a shock World Series appearance? Or will the Tampa Bay Rays get it into gear and tie this series up heading into Game 5? Let us know what you think!

Here’s a random clip of my favorite NLCS moment from back when I was a kid. Share yours below if you’d like!

With the Milwaukee Brewers sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers to claim their first National League pennant since 1982, attention now turns to the American League Championship Series between the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays.

Cleveland holds a 2-1 series lead following Thursday’s 3-2 victory. The Guardians are looking for their first World Series appearance since 2016 and their first championship since 1948, while the Rays hope to return for the first time since 2020 and capture their first title.

Tampa Bay will turn to Nick Martinez, who posted a 3.10 ERA during the regular season, including 13.0 scoreless innings against Cleveland. The veteran right-hander relies on excellent command and a six-pitch mix featuring a sinking fastball, fading changeup and cutter.

Cleveland will use Shawn Armstrong as an opener. Armstrong has thrown 5.1 scoreless innings this postseason, primarily using his four-seamer, sweeper and cutter. Left-hander Joey Cantillo could follow to handle the bulk of the innings, bringing a low-90s fastball, looping curveball and changeup.

Another night of October baseball is upon us. Enjoy the game and join us in the comments!

Tampa Bay Rays (1-2) at Cleveland Guardians (2-1) — 6:00 p.m. MDT

Pitching matchup: RHP Nick Martinez (4.91 ERA) vs. RHP Shawn Armstrong (0.00 ERA)

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Radio: ESPN Radio

TV: TBS/HBO Max

Lineups

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Some would say that 2026 was a tumultuous season for the Yankees’ skipper, and there is a lot to be said about what went right in Aaron Boone’s decision-making and what eventually backfired to catalyze disaster.

There are many occasions when Boone stepped in at the right time to pull a pitcher and allowed the players to control their own destiny from the plate. He is most confident when he’s defending his guys from the dugout and isn’t afraid to get in an umpire’s face after a bad call. This has always been Boone’s style, and he continued his fiery streak this season with five ejections during regular season games. However, as manager, he is mandated to take accountability for some of the questionable decisions that may have put the Yankees in tougher situations.

MLB insiders Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman recently invited Joe Girardi to assess Boone’s decisions, and the former Yankees manager had a lot of positive takeaways despite a disappointing end to this season. Girardi even went on to claim that this was Boone’s best year of managing in his nine years on the job.

To give him credit, Boone had to navigate through several injuries this season and consistently found ways to keep the Yankees fighting for a playoff spot when all seemed lost, especially without Aaron Judge. Along with the Yankees captain, several star players had lengthy stints on the injured list, including Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Ryan Weathers, and Giancarlo Stanton. Expected 2026 contributors Cody Bellinger, Austin Wells, Trent Grisham, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all missed a few weeks, too. Despite all the setbacks, Boone still found a way to propel the Yankees to their third conseuctive season of at least 93 wins, and he could’ve matched the 94 from both 2024 and 2025 had a rainout not nixed Game 162.

Contrast this to 2023, when Judge also missed a bunch of time and the Yankees struggled to 82 wins, their worst year in over two decades. Although the personnel may have just been better this time around, Boone did help keep the season from falling apart and rendering September irrelevant (let alone October). Credit Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake for helping the bullpen beat preseason expectations as well; others might not have had the confidence in unheralded names like Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn, but they had strong seasons setting up for closer David Bednar.

The Yankees skipper also deserves some praise for refusing to put Judge in a spot where he could put his future career at risk. After being sidelined for the final stretch of the regular season with a moderate grade right calf strain, Judge was eager to get back into the lineup as the Yankees prepared for the postseason. Boone and general manager Brian Cashman ultimately decided to leave him off the roster for the Wild Card Series against Boston, which didn’t end up being an issue as the Yankees scored a combined 18 runs in the two-game dusting.

The Division Series was an entirely different scenario. On the advice of the Yankees’ medical staff, Judge was again absent from the series, in which the first two games were played on the turf at Tropicana Field. Judge, much like the rest of the Yankees’ offense, struggled to put up big numbers in Tampa Bay and went a combined 2-for-10 with a home run, four RBIs, and four strikeouts this season. He appeared disgruntled at Boone’s decision to keep him off the field for the series, but it may have been the best choice to allow him more time to recover from the calf injury and not put his career at risk — after all, severe Achilles injuries have been linked to the soleus muscle, which is where his calf was strained.

On the other hand, one of Boone’s most glaringly disappointing choices was putting Grisham in a leadoff spot in an elimination game when the Yankees were at risk of getting swept by the Rays on their own turf. Grisham, who barely saw any action in September, was the last of the batters left to keep the fight alive down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. With the hottest hitter of the postseason on deck in Ben Rice—who had been batting leadoff—Grisham ended up striking out in four pitches from Bryan Baker, allowing Tampa Bay to celebrate advancing to the ALCS from the Bronx clubhouse once again. With Grisham putting the cherry on top of an embarrassing postseason performance, the Yankees also continued their postseason losing streak and remain winless on the road since the 2024 ALCS against the Guardians.

It looks like Boone is here to stay for at least another year, as his contract runs through the end of 2027. Hopefully the Yankees can make enough clever moves during this expectedly elongated offseason to put them in a better spot for next season.