NEW YORK — The Yankees and Guardians will have to wait yet another day. Game 2 of the American League Division Series was postponed until Friday at 1 p.m., because of rain and possible severe weather that was expected in the Bronx on Thursday night.
That means Yankees starter Nestor Cortes has to wait another day to make his first postseason appearance. Like most things that have come his way, Cortes planned to roll with it and be ready for Friday.
“For sure,” Cortes said on Wednesday about the possibility of being postponed on Thursday. “Like I said, I’ll train today like I’m going to pitch [Thursday] at 7:30. And if things do change, then we’ll adjust with that.”
Shane Bieber will have to wait another day for redemption. While he worked 7 2/3 innings in Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Rays, allowing just one run on three hits, his postseason appearance against the Yankees was disastrous. After a 2020 COVID-abbreviated regular season, in which he was awarded the Cy Young, Bieber matched up with Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in Game 1 of the AL wild-card series in Cleveland. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings after giving up seven runs.
Cleveland’s ace knows very well what this Yankees lineup featuring AL home run king Aaron Judge can do.
“Damage,” Bieber said Wednesday. “I think especially in this ballpark, they are able to hit for a slug and do it with guys on base. As long as you don’t change your game plan, your aggressiveness and stick to your strengths, put yourself in a good position to at the end of the day just compete, put the team in a good position to win and hand the ball off to the bullpen, like we’ve tried to do all year. And like I’ve said, going into the postseason, I think that’s ultimately the goal.
“So stay aggressive. Keep guys off base. No free bases.”
It will now likely be Bieber’s only chance to impact the outcome of this series.
That means the best-of-five series, if it plays out to the end, will have four games in four days. For the Yankees, who had a first-round bye, it means their hitters will have played one game in the last eight days. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said it will mean some minor adjustments.
“It would probably affect the pitching rotation if you went five games and you had to play four in a row, sure,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday about the possibility of a rain postponement. “The lineup, no. I mean, we play — that’s what you do in baseball is you play every day. Shouldn’t affect that. That’s more who we are going up against, matchups, things like that.
“Pitching, it could change a little bit of what you do.”
This likely benefits the Yankees, who hold a 1-0 lead in the series. Bieber was scheduled to pitch Game 2 of the series, because he had to pitch Game 1 of the AL wild-card series against the Rays. Now, if the series goes five games, the Guardians would likely be unable to bring him back on two days’ rest.
The Yankees prepared for the series to go the distance. They included starter Jameson Taillon on their ALDS roster for a potential five-game series. They had Taillon in the bullpen — for the first time in his professional career — in Game 1, and he is insurance if they need a fourth starter.
“I’ve looked at the schedule a little bit. I know that’s definitely a possibility, but for today I’m a reliever and that’s all I can really focus on,” Taillon said Tuesday night when asked about the possibility of having to start a Game 5.
Boone had Taillon warming up in the ninth inning of Game 1, but never used him. He also has Domingo German available for length in the bullpen.
The Yankees bullpen has been shaky down the stretch, hurt by injuries. So there is even a chance Cortes, who worked his way up from the bullpen and isn’t a power pitcher who throws hard, could come back on short rest for a do-or-die Game 5 if needed.
“I would consider him being an option in that kind of scenario,” Boone said. “But [against the Guardians], if you had him in an inning scenario, a couple-inning scenario, that would be pretty valuable.
“But, you know, if he goes Friday, hopefully we’re not in a Game 5 situation. But if we are, we’ll see. I mean, he would maybe be in play but I wouldn’t — not necessarily as a traditional starter.”
