Tuesday, September 08
Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Today’s edition is brought to you by David Adler.
You’ve heard the news — Aaron Judge is back.
After 99 days — yes, really — No. 99 returns to the lineup tonight for the Yankees’ series opener against the Rockies at Yankee Stadium (7:05 p.m. ET, MLB.TV).
Judge is batting third and playing right field, and we can’t wait to see him back in the batter’s box. (Maybe no one’s more excited than Joey Votto, though, who’s out here calling Judge the greatest hitter of all time.)
But since Judge is jumping right into the heat of the pennant race — no rehab assignment, no nothing — we’ve got questions, too. Here are five big ones about the reigning MVP’s return:
1) Can Judge single-handedly swing the playoff race?
The Yankees are firmly in playoff position with 19 games remaining, but they’re only two games up on the Red Sox for the top AL Wild Card spot … and only four games back of the Rays for the AL East lead. Judge is the rare player with the power to turn the tide of those races, even in such little time. There’s a lot on the line here — at least home-field advantage for the Wild Card Series, and at most the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye if the Yanks can catch the Rays.
2) How soon before Judge looks like MVP-level Judge?
The extent of Judge’s impact obviously depends on how quickly he’s able to return to form. There are only three weeks left until the playoffs. How much of that time will we see peak Judge for? Will he at least be back to his old self by October? The Yankees need him to be.
3) Can his return jump-start the Yankees’ whole offense?
Judge is only one bat, but he’s a BIG bat. Will his presence in the heart of the Yankees’ order be enough to spark an offense that has scuffled without him? The Yanks ranked 26th in the Majors in runs scored in Judge’s absence (341 in 84 games, which comes out to 4.06 per game), and 27th in OPS (.680). As manager Aaron Boone said: “We’ve had long stretches where the offense has struggled. I think a big part of that is not having your guy.”
4) Will skipping a rehab assignment go smoothly?
Judge doesn’t think he needs a rehab assignment to get into the swing of things — as he put it, “I don’t see a point. Why waste at-bats?” However many he can squeeze into the next 19 games — 60? 75? More? — the results will tell the tale.
5) How careful will the Yankees be about his usage?
We’re curious to see what exactly the Yankees’ plan is for Judge. Will he play the whole game? Will he play every day? Boone says the Yanks might get creative to build up Judge’s stamina. We assume he’ll be a full go by the postseason, but what about right now?
GAMES OF THE NIGHT
Judge’s return isn’t the only big one on tap for tonight. Here are three other games to watch.
Astros at Phillies (6:40 p.m. ET, TBS / MLB.TV)
The Astros are trying to hold onto the AL West lead, while the Phillies are trying to fight off the Cubs for the top NL Wild Card spot — or, even better, chase down the Braves for the NL East crown. The Phils just earned a crucial split with Atlanta, and they play the Braves again right after this. But they can’t look past the ‘Stros, as the resurgent Andrew Painter takes the mound for tonight’s opener.
Cubs at Brewers (7:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV)
This will be Jacob Misiorowski’s final start of the season against the rival Cubs — at least, the regular season. The Cubs hung five runs on the NL Cy Young frontrunner last week at Wrigley Field in what was arguably Miz’s worst outing of the season. He could really use a bounceback here, especially with Chris Sale bearing down on him in the Cy Young race.
D-backs at Royals (7:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV)
Welcome back, Corbin Burnes. After a 15-month rehab from Tommy John surgery, the 2021 NL Cy Young winner will make his season debut for Arizona tonight. With the D-backs fighting for a Wild Card spot, their ace’s return couldn’t come at a better time.
THE POST-LABOR DAY PLAYOFF PICTURE
We want to give you a quick post-Labor Day rundown of the playoff picture, since we’re in the final stretch now. Here’s where things stand…
The tightest division races
• AL East: All three 80-win teams in the American League are in the East. The Rays (85-58) are four games ahead of the Yankees (81-62), and six games ahead of the Red Sox (80-65). The Yanks and Sox each have one series left against Tampa Bay.
• AL Central: The White Sox (75-68) are three games up on the Guardians (73-72), and the two teams play one more head-to-head series in Cleveland from Sept. 14-16.
• AL West: The Astros are the only team in the West with a winning record (73-71), but they’re just two games up on the Rangers (71-73). The in-state rivals have no more head-to-head matchups, though.
• NL East: The Phillies (81-63) are within four games of the Braves (85-59), and head to Atlanta for one last series this weekend. Philadelphia has a tough end-of-season schedule, though, with other series against the Astros, Brewers and Rays.
The state of the Wild Card races
• AL: The Yankees and Red Sox are way ahead for the top two spots, but the third and final spot is wide open. The Guardians hold it now, but the Blue Jays (72-73) are just a game back, the Rangers (71-73) are 1 1/2 games back, and even the Orioles (70-75) are only three back.
• NL: The Phillies and Cubs (81-64) are just half a game apart as they battle for the top Wild Card spot. The same is true for the two teams battling for the third and final spot. The D-backs (77-68) would be in if the season ended today, but the Padres (76-68) are right behind.
The race for the top seeds
• AL: The No. 1 seed is almost certainly going to come from the East, but the other first-round bye is up for grabs, with the Central-leading White Sox and the West-leading Astros only 2 1/2 games apart.
• NL: The Brewers (89-56), Dodgers (87-57) and Braves are all fighting for the two NL byes, with only 3 1/2 games separating the three teams.
PCA, JAVY BÁEZ AND A TRADE … AGAIN!
Pete Crow-Armstrong had quite the Labor Day weekend.
The NL MVP favorite belted his 40th home run of the season on Sunday, becoming just the 10th Cubs player to hit 40 and the first since Derrek Lee in 2005.
PCA also has a 40-40 season in his sightsafter another home run and two stolen bases yesterday, which gives him 41 homers and 35 steals on the season. Crow-Armstrong just needs five more steals over the Cubs’ final 17 games to become the seventh member of the 40-40 club.
And when he wasn’t mashing dingers and swiping bags, PCA was taking the time to reconnect with a young fan he first met when he was still in Double-A.
Perla Paredes has that story, which involved the perfect trade: PCA got a 1-of-1 Javier Báez card, and 11-year-old Crew Klein got a signed PCA bat. Sound familiar? Crow-Armstrong was traded for Javy — who was his favorite player growing up — when the Cubs got him from the Mets.
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RJ Hamster 