Preview and pick for Game 2 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Rays

The New York Yankees have been talking about becoming something of a wrecking crew in these playoffs. But what they're doing may be surprising even to their strong supporters. On Tuesday night they wil ltry to get off to a 2-0 series lead over the Tampa Bay Rays when the two teams meet at 8:12 PM ET on TBS.

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The Yankees have so much power that they can afford to not get any of it out of a guy like major league home run leader Luke Voit (dealing with a foot injury) and still beat opponents into the ground with long balls. They can afford to keep a genuine slugger (Gary Sanchez) on the bench in favor of a "personal catcher" (Kyle Higashioka) and not feel the brunt of it. And it helps when that personal catcher can "go yard" as Higgy did in Game 1, a 9-3 victory in which both lefty Blake Snell and the Tampa Bay bullpen got "reached."

Aaron Judge also hit a homer and Giancarlo Stanton belted a grand slam in what was another stunning array of muscle. The Yankees have scored 31 runs in three playoff games, and their eleven post-season homers are the most that has ever been seen over a three-game period in playoff action.

Okay, here's some scary stuff - Judge says, "For me, the regular season is kind of like spring training. The real season is the playoffs."

Indeed.

In the MLB playoff odds posted on this game at BetAnySports, the Yankees are underdogs:

Tampa Bay Rays (Glasnow) -117
New York Yankees (Garcia) +107

Over 8 Runs +100
Under 8 Runs -120

Yankees +1.5 Runs -190
Rays - 1.5 Runs +165

Stanton, the former National League MVP who has been off-and-on since being traded to the Yankees from Miami, is most definitely "on" at the moment. He has three home runs in three playoff games, constituting al three of his hits. And even though San Diego's Petco Park (the neutral site at which the games are being played) is known to have some heavy air, making it difficult to get lift, Stanton has had success there - for instance, winning the 2016 Home Run Derby.

In Game 2, the Yankees are doing what the media is calling a "bold move" by naming 21-year-old Deivi Garcia the starter. He's made six starts this season, with a 4.98 ERA. In his last, he gave up four runs in 6-2/3 innings on September 26. So it's been ten days.

Aaron Boone is convinced he can handle it mentally. And he'll go with Garcia as long as he can. But this sounds very much like Boone is going to do some "bullpenning," which is something commonly associated with the Rays. In Game 1, they used Chad Green, Zach Britton and Luis Cessa for an inning apiece after Gerrit Cole, so they ought to be in good shape.

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash feels fortunate that he didn't have to use Nick Anderson, Diego Castillo or Peter Fairbanks out of his own pen. Tyler Glasnow will get the start; he has gone 11-2 these last two seasons. And he blew by hitters like never before in 2020, striking out 91 in 57 innings. He held the Yankees to a .173 average in two starts this year, but walked seven batters in 14-1/3 innings. 

The Yankees will almost certainly be looking for something out of "long men" like JA Happ or Jordan Montgomery. if they can get that, it makes things even better. The way New York is hitting right now, Glasnow had better be careful about putting guys on base.

Because you can't pitch around everybody.

We'll go with the underdog Yankees.

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