struggles
http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-carlos-asuaje-jersey , the New York Yankees are headed back to the postseason following a 3-2 win over
the Baltimore Orioles in 11 innings Saturday.The Yankees celebrated the playoff
berth on Twitter:New York Yankees YankeesThe New York Yankees are Postseason
bound. pG0lWDNgaVNew York's clinching win came in dramatic fashion, as
outfielder Aaron Hicks scored shortstop Didi Gregorius on a walk-off RBI
double.While the Boston Red Sox beat the Yanks 11-6 on Thursday to clinch the AL
East crown, Saturday's win guarantees that New York will play in the American
League Wild Card Game.It has yet to be determined who the Yankees will face in
that game and where it will take place, but they currently own a two-game lead
over the Oakland Athletics, who lead the Tampa Bay Rays by seven games for the
second wild-card spot.The Bronx Bombers started the season scalding hot and
entered the All-Star break a sterling 62-33 thanks to a power-packed lineup
headlined by 2017 American League Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge and 2017
National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton.During that stretch, the Yankees ranked
third among all MLB teams in runs scored (493), first in home runs (161) and
tops in slugging percentage (.463) as youngsters Miguel Andujar and Gleyber
Torres made leaps ahead of schedule.However, New York's torrent pace didn't last
forever.The Yankees closed out July an unremarkable 15-10
Christian Villanueva Jersey , and they finished just four games above .500 (17-13) in August as the Red Sox ran away with the American League East. Not
surprisingly, the regression coincided with Judge's trip to the disabled list
because of achip fracture in his right wrist.Plus, the Yankees' starting
rotation hasn't been able to pull its weight with a cumulative ERA of4.05that
ranks15thamong all Major League clubs.Most notably, that figure has been hurt by
Luis Severino's backslide over the past few months.Although Severino earned his
second straight All-Star nod by posting a 2.31 ERA and 14-2 record before the
Midsummer Classic, he has largely been a liability since.Over11second-half
starts, the24-year-old is 4-6with a5.74ERA.Once considered the Yankees' most
reliable and overpowering ace, Severino now looks like a dicey starting option
in a do-or-die wild card setting.The same can't be said of Masahiro Tanaka, who
has been one of the Yankees' few bright spots entering the home stretch with
a2.62ERA across11second-half starts.Don't be surprised if Tanaka takes the hill
when October rolls around as the Yankees hope to extend their playoff lives and
make a second straight trip to the ALDS.While New York still needs to lock in
the No. 1 wild-card spot to ensure a home game in the wild-card round
http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-szczur-jersey , it can now start looking ahead with the intention of setting up its rotation and
resting its bullpen in anticipation of the win-or-go-home contest. PHOENIX — The
Los Angeles Dodgers ruined Arizona’s season.The Diamondbacks could do a little
something about it this week.The Dodgers knocked Arizona out of first place in
the NL West with three consecutive comeback victories on the first weekend of
September, winning all three on their final at-bat by the same score,
3-2.Article continues below ...The Diamondbacks are 5-17 since as they prepare
to host the division-leading Dodgers in a three-game series that begins Monday
at Chase Field.“I feel like that was an extremely tough series … to give
everything you have … this team was invested and we were in first place, talking
about good things happening at the end of this road,” Arizona manager Torey
Lovullo said.“It definitely staggered us. Have we recovered? I would like to say
we did, but our play has told us that we have not.”The Diamondbacks left that
series in third place, and the Dodgers climbed back into first with a three-game
sweep of Colorado last week. The Dodgers (87-69) will bring a 1 1/2-game lead
over the Rockies into final week of the season and also are only one game behind
Atlanta for possible home field advantage in the first round of the
playoffs.“There were a couple more gut punches in that Atlanta series that may
have been some key blows,” said Lovullo referring a series in which the
Diamondbacks lost three of four the weekend after playing the Dodgers.“It was a
lot to absorb. The L.A. series is one that maybe a lot of people will see as a
target.”Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw (8-5
Craig Stammen Jersey , 2.45) is scheduled to oppose Arizona left-hander Robbie Ray (6-2, 3.92) in the first game of the series. Kershaw has made 14
straight quality starts.While the Dodgers are contending for a playoff spot,
there will be no lack of motivation on the Arizona side.“It is hard to say you
are going to pay people back in sports, because they are gifted athletes, too,”
Lovullo said. “But we should make it as hard on them as possible to do what they
are trying to do. “That will be my message to the guys. I certainly don’t want
to see any team celebrate on our turf. I watched it last year and it was
painful, and I don’t want to watch it again. We’ll make sure we give everything
we have the next several days.”The Dodgers swept the Diamondbacks in the NLDS
last season, finishing if off in Arizona.The Dodgers have won 15 of 22 games and
have won nine of their last 11.They have a franchise season record 225
homers
http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-trevor-hoffman-jersey , setting the mark on newcomer Manny Machado’s homer Saturday night.“We have great
hitters here,” Machado told reporters Saturday. “We’re all confident. We know
the team we have.”Machado, who had another homer Sunday, had one of the Dodgers’
four homers in the critical series against Arizona at the first of the month.
Matt Kemp won the third game of the series with a three-run homer in the eighth
inning Sept. 1, and his two-run walkoff double ended the Sept. 2 game.Kershaw
will have one more start remaining after this unless the Dodgers have clinched a
playoff berth by next weekend and opt to juggle the rotation to prepare for the
playoffs. If Kershaw does make two starts, he could put himself high on the ERA
leaderboard because he is only 11 2/3 innings short of qualifying. The Mets’
Jacob deGrom has a 1.77 ERA and will win the title, but Kershaw could nose out
Aaron Nola (2.45) and Max Scherzer (2.57) for second.Kershaw has won his last
five decisions and has not lost since July 21, when Milwaukee scored three
unearned runs in a 4-2 victory. He has a 2.22 ERA during his string of 14
quality start and has faced the Diamondbacks four times this season
Evan Longoria Jersey , going 1-1 with a 2.42 ERA.Ray has won his last three decisions over 12 starts and has not lost since July 12. He has given up
three runs or less in each of his last nine starts and two runs or less in eight
of them. He is coming off a 9-0 victory over the Cubs in which he gave up one
hit and struck out eight in six innings.Ray has faced the Dodgers once this
season, a 3-1 victory on Aug. 30 in the first game of that series in Los
Angeles. He is 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA against them in 14 career starts, the most he
has faced any opponent.
