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With the 162-game marathon finally complete, the Yankees are about to start a sprint for 11 wins.
But first, five days without any games.
Playing with most of their regulars out of the lineup on a rainy and raw day at the Stadium, the Yankees capped off the regular season Sunday with a 6-4 win over the Pirates.
Thanks to Alex Verdugo’s two-run single in the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees finished the year 94-68.
Having already secured the AL’s top seed Saturday night, Sunday’s game was largely meaningless for the Yankees aside from being their final chance for real at-bats and innings pitched until Saturday’s Game 1 of the ALDS, where they will face the winner of the wild-card series between the Orioles and Royals.
“It’s crazy — you go through 162 games, I feel like we’ve been through a ton as a team this year,” manager Aaron Boone said. “To end up with the best record in the American League, I think it’s something to be proud of. These guys should be proud that they’ve answered every challenge this year. It hasn’t always been easy, but proud of the fact that we’ve put ourselves in this position to take our shot. We’re excited about that.”
The only positioning left up for grabs involving the Yankees on Sunday was potentially finishing with a better record than the Phillies if they were to meet in the World Series (the Dodgers had already clinched the majors’ best record).
But the Phillies finished off a win over the Nationals by the bottom of the fourth inning in The Bronx, guaranteeing Philadelphia a better record regardless of what the Yankees did.
The Yankees will be off Monday before holding workouts Tuesday through Friday at the Stadium. Wednesday and Thursday’s workouts will include some simulated games and live at-bats against either Yankees pitchers needing to get their work in (including the rehabbing Jake Cousins on Thursday) or minor leaguers.
The only real intrigue Sunday — aside from making sure everyone got through Game 162 healthy, which played a part in Aaron Judge being scratched from the lineup to avoid having to play in the slippery conditions — was Clarke Schmidt making his last pitch for a start in the ALDS and Ben Rice being called up to fill in for the injured Anthony Rizzo at first base.
Following Gerrit Cole and likely Carlos Rodon, it will almost certainly be either Schmidt or Luis Gil in Game 3 of the ALDS.
And while the opponent will play somewhat of a factor, so will how each of them is throwing heading into October.
After Gil got tagged for four home runs Saturday, Schmidt was not his sharpest Sunday.
The right-hander struggled with his command, walking four and hitting another batter while giving up four runs across four-plus innings.
Schmidt, who missed three-plus months with a strained lat earlier this year, finished the regular season with a 2.85 ERA across 16 starts.
He does have previous relief experience, which could make it easier to move him to the bullpen for the ALDS and have Gil remain in the rotation.
If the Yankees make it to the ALCS, they may need Schmidt to move back into a starting role assuming Nestor Cortes (left elbow flexor strain) is still sidelined.
The Yankees also had Rice starting at first base in the regular-season finale — he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts — in a potential preview of what’s to come in the ALDS.
Rizzo suffered two fractured fingers when he was hit by a pitch in Saturday’s loss, jeopardizing his chances of playing in the postseason, though the Yankees have not yet placed him on the injured list, trying to see if he might be available by next weekend.
