The New York Yankees are down 3-1 to the Houston Astros in the ALCS, and it is not looking that great for them.
The Yankees have not been doing what they had been doing all season, and that is hitting with runners in scoring position.
Yankees hit .294 with an .890 OPS this season with RISP. This series it has not been anything close to that and as a result they're down 3-1 and on the brink of elimination
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) October 18, 2019
A .294 average and .890 OPS with runners in scoring position is amazing. As for this series though, the Yankees have 33 runners on base, and have failed to come up in the big spots. The Yankees are just 4-27 with runners in scoring position through the first four games of the series, and that is just dreadful. Is this 2018?
The Yankees had the bases loaded twice in Game 4, and failed to even score a run both times, and one of those times they only had one out.
Yankees had bases loaded and one out in 5th inning. During regular season, teams scored at least 1 run in that situation 67% of the time.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) October 18, 2019
The result of this bases-loaded situation was two strikeouts to end the inning, those coming from Gleyber Torres and Edwin Encarnacion.
Key players have not been performing, and that has been another one of the main problems. Edwin Encarnacion is 1-15 with three walks, 8 strikeouts, and has left 11 runners on by himself. He has been coming up in big spots time and time again, but has just not been able to get the job done.
Gary Sanchez has not been amazing offensively but recently broke out of his slump with a two-run home run in Game 4. That is only his second hit of the series, but he has been performing very well defensively.
A question mark in the Yankees’ lineup is the absence of Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton injured his quad in the first game of the series, and has not played in the last three games. He injured his quad while sprinting to first on an infield single in the second inning, and then went on to hit a home run and play the field well for the rest of the game. The last three games, he has been available to pinch-hit.
Why is he not in the lineup?
Yes, he is injured. However, with the way this lineup is hitting, any change is welcome. This time of year, if it is a small injury such as this one, Stanton should at least be in the lineup. If he is available to DH, he should be. October is where players play through anything to win games. The Yankees are down 3-1 in the series, so there is no point in him staying on the bench to “save him for the World Series”. If they do not win the next three games, there will be no World Series for him to play in.
If Stanton is in the lineup, he should definitely DH. He would not be in the field, so that would take some of the stress off of his leg, and he would be replacing Encarnacion, who has failed to come up in crucial spots every game.
The Yankees need to tighten up their offense. The series is anything but over, but to win the next three games, the offense needs to step up.
Featured Image: Jim McIsaac - Associated Press
