The New York Yankees get a rare Saturday off-day and the reason is the major nor’easter storm that had been predicted all week to batter the East Coast.
Rain and wind in the forecasts preemptively wiped out Yankee Stadium on Saturday. The Yankees played a doubleheader Friday against the Baltimore Orioles instead, as they look ahead to Tuesday’s Wild Card Series opener against the Boston Red Sox.
Sunday’s final game of the regular season looks shaky too, and with the Yankees’ seeding locked and Baltimore already eliminated, a Sunday washout could mean no game at all this weekend.
Yankees Face Soggy, Uncertain Weekend
The Yankees announced on Thursday that Saturday’s game against the Orioles wouldn’t be played, citing the forecast of sustained inclement weather from the nor’easter parked over the region.
The rescheduling pushed the matchup into Friday’s doubleheader that replaced Saturday’s game, New York split the twin bill, dropping the opener 10-2 before rallying for a 6-3 win that may prove to be the closing game of the regular season, with the Yankees finishing at 93-68. The CC Sabathia number retirement ceremony and Monument Park plaque unveiling moved up ahead of Friday’s opener.
The National Weather Service called for rain and wind through Saturday afternoon, with gusts up to 46 mph and a 100 percent chance of precipitation continuing into the night. Sunday isn’t shaping up much drier, with showers, a high near 67 degrees and rain chances near 90 percent in the same outlook.
Manager Aaron Boone wasn’t banking on a clean finish to the week.
“Saturday’s out of the question. We’ll see what Sunday brings,” Boone said Thursday, as quoted by New York Daily News.
Sunday’s finale remains on the books for 3:20 p.m. ET, but it may not survive. Neither club has anything riding on the outcome, with New York’s seeding locked and Baltimore long eliminated, and MLB has scrapped meaningless season-enders before rather than fight bad weather.
If Sunday washes out too, it won’t be made up. One complication — the result could still shift the Orioles’ and Blue Jays‘ draft-lottery positioning, though that has no bearing on New York’s plans.
Yankees Weigh Cam Schlittler’s Wild Card Role
Whatever happens with the rest of the weekend, the empty off days hand the Yankees uninterrupted rest before Tuesday, when the AL’s top wild-card seed locked in hosts the Red Sox in a best-of-three series.
Cam Schlittler enters as the presumptive ace, his 14-6 record and 1.95 ERA backing a Cy Young case after his final regular-season turn Thursday against Tampa Bay. The Yankees haven’t committed him to Game 1, though.
Left-hander Max Fried is drawing consideration to open the series instead, a move that would push Schlittler to Game 2 with an extra day of rest. Fried is “in heavy consideration” for Game 1, pitching coach Matt Blake said, according to New York Post.
Will Warren, who started and won Friday’s nightcap, looks more like a bullpen option in a three-game set. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón round out the candidates for Game 2 or 3, with Rodón also potentially available in relief.
The schedule change doesn’t affect New York’s injury picture, but it buys extra recovery time. Aaron Judge remains sidelined with a moderate calf strain and isn’t expected back for the series, while Giancarlo Stanton is closer to returning from his own calf injury. Anthony Volpe has worked at third base as the Yankees test infield options, and Clarke Schmidt, out with a biceps injury, is done for the postseason.
Why Is There No Yankees Game Today? What Happened to Saturday’s Game?