With the 162-game marathon finally complete, the Yankees are about to start a sprint for 11 wins.
But first, five days without any games.
Playing with most of their regulars out of the lineup on a rainy and raw day at the Stadium, the Yankees capped off the regular season Sunday with a 6-4 win over the Pirates.
Thanks to Alex Verdugo’s two-run single in the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees finished the year 94-68.
Having already secured the American League’s top seed Saturday night, Sunday’s game was largely meaningless for the Yankees aside from being their final chance for real at-bats and innings pitched until next Saturday’s Game 1 of the ALDS, in which they will face the winner of the AL wild-card series between the Orioles and Royals.
“I think we match up great with everybody,” said Clarke Schmidt, who battled the brutal conditions while giving up four runs across four-plus innings. “Obviously, we’re very talented top to bottom.
“I personally think we’re the best team in baseball, and we’re going to set out to try to prove that this postseason.”
The only positioning left up for grabs involving the Yankees on Sunday was potentially finishing with a better record than the Phillies if they were to meet in the World Series (the Dodgers had already clinched the majors’ best record).
But the Phillies finished off a win over the Nationals by the bottom of the fourth inning in The Bronx, guaranteeing Philadelphia a better record regardless of what the Yankees did.
Still, the Yankees did enough to capture the best record in the AL, giving them home-field advantage through the ALCS should they make it there.
“It’s crazy; you go through 162 games, I feel like we’ve been through a ton as a team this year,” manager Aaron Boone said. “To end up with the best record in the American League, I think it’s something to be proud of. These guys should be proud that they’ve answered every challenge this year. It hasn’t always been easy, but proud of the fact that we’ve put ourselves in this position to take our shot. We’re excited about that.”
The Yankees will now be fully off Monday before holding workouts Tuesday through Friday at the Stadium.
Wednesday and Thursday’s workouts will include some simulated game and live at-bats against either Yankees pitchers needing to get their work in or minor leaguers.
The only real intrigue Sunday — aside from making sure everyone got through Game 162 healthy, which played a part in Aaron Judge being scratched from the lineup to avoid having to play in the wet conditions — was Schmidt making his last pitch for a start in the ALDS and Ben Rice being called up to fill in for the injured Anthony Rizzo at first base.
Following Gerrit Cole and likely Carlos Rodon, it will almost certainly be either Schmidt or Luis Gil in Game 3 of the ALDS.
And while the opponent will play a factor, so will how each of them are throwing heading into October.
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After Gil was tagged for four home runs Saturday, Schmidt was not his sharpest either Sunday, struggling with his command in more poor conditions.
Schmidt, who missed three-plus months with a lat strain earlier this year, finished the regular season with a 2.85 ERA across 16 starts.
He does have previous relief experience, which could make it easier to move him to the bullpen for the ALDS and have Gil remain in the rotation.
If the Yankees make it to the ALCS, they may need Schmidt to move back into a starting role, assuming Nestor Cortes (left elbow flexor strain) is still sidelined.
“It doesn’t matter [the role],” Schmidt said. “I’m trying to win a World Series, so whatever it takes.”
The Yankees also had Rice starting at first base in the regular-season finale — he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts — as Boone called Rizzo “very much a long shot” to play in the ALDS because of two fractured fingers from being hit by a pitch Saturday.
But the Yankees have not yet placed him on the injured list, trying to see if he might be available by next weekend, when their chase for a 28th title will begin.
“This is what you dream of in October is playing,” Rizzo said. “If I can be out there to help the team, it’s definitely what I’ll do my best to do.”
