The New York Yankees left Boston behind and are now preparing for a completely different challenge. The Tampa Bay Rays wait in the American League Division Series after finishing the regular season with the best record of the young circuit.
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The series brings together two rivals who know each other perfectly. They shared the East division throughout the season, faced each other 13 times and ended up apart by just five wins: Tampa Bay with 98 and New York with 93.
The Rays won seven of those 13 matchups, but October begins with a different context. The Yankees arrive after sweeping Boston and with a rested rotation, while Tampa had several days to prepare his pitching and retrieve players.
On paper, there are important arguments on both sides. The difference may end up appearing in the small details.
A series between the two best teams in the American League
The format of the postseason caused Yankees and Rays to be in the divisional series despite finishing with the two best records in the American League.
Tampa Bay won the East and secured the first seed after a 98-win season. The Yankees finished second in the division with 93 wins and had to beat the Wild Card round.
New York did that job quickly.
The Yankees defeated Boston 9-0 and 9-2, scored 18 runs in two games and avoided playing a third game. That sweep allowed Gerrit Cole to be preserved and completely rearranged for Tampa Bay.
The Yankees offensive comes on
The big question before facing Boston was how he would answer the offensive without Aaron Judge.
The answer was forceful.
Ben Rice led the first game with two home runs and six RBIs. Cody Bellinger produced four runs in the second. George Lombard Jr., Luis García Jr., Austin Wells, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Spencer Jones also found ways to contribute.
The Yankees not only used power. They also ran the bases, pressured the defense and took advantage of situations with runners in a scoring position.
That type of offense will be important against Tampa Bay, because the Rays build a good part of their success by avoiding mistakes and reducing the rival's chances.
Ben Rice will be one of the bats that Tampa will have to control
Rice arrives as one of the hottest hitters in New York.
Including the postseason, the left-hander hits .365 with seven home runs and 15 runs from September 10.
In addition, he had a lot of success against Tampa Bay during the regular season, hitting seven home runs in 13 games.
Its presence acquires even greater importance while continuing the uncertainty around Judge.
If Rice maintains the level shown for the last few weeks, Tampa will not be able to concentrate his entire strategy on a single part of the lineup.
Aaron Judge is still the piece that can change the lineup
The captain's situation continues to be one of the great issues before the start of the series.
Judge has been taking live batting turns and doing work in the gardens as he advances in recovery from the right calf injury.
However, the Yankees still have to determine how much they can run and what function they could play if it is included in the roster.
During the regular season, New York averaged more runs per game with Judge within the lineup, but the Wild Card proved that the team can also produce collectively without it.
His possible return would not only mean adding an impact bat. It would also force Aaron Boone to rearrange a lineup that just worked extremely well against Boston.
Tampa Bay presents a different offensive
Rays don't need to live off the home to control a match.
Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero form the core of an offensive that can produce power, but Tampa is also characterized by constantly placing the ball into play.
The Rays were one of the most difficult teams to strike out during the season and frequently use plays that force the opposing defense to execute correctly.
They touch the ball, run aggressively, advance runners and seek to turn any oversight into an additional base.
That style already created problems for New York during the regular season, especially at Tropicana Field.
The defense of the Yankees will have to be prepared
This can be one of the most important aspects of the entire series.
Tampa Bay puts the ball into play very often and forces defenders to make quick decisions.
The Yankees learned that lesson during a series in April at Tropicana Field, when the Rays used speed, touches, and defensive errors to control various games.
The New York painting is now different.
George Lombard Jr. occupies an important role in the shortstop, Jazz Chisholm Jr. offers infield athletics and Ryan McMahon can bring high-level defense in third base.
Against Tampa, completing routine outs will be indispensable.
Gerrit Cole against Drew Rasmussen opens the series
Game 1 duel will have two openers capable of completely controlling a match.
The Yankees will deliver the ball to Gerrit Cole, who finished the season with a record of 10-9, a 3.61 ERA and 131 strikeouts.
Cole has also had good recent results against Tampa Bay, with a 2.09 ERA in his last six starts against the Rays.
On the other side will be Drew Rasmussen.
The right-hander finished 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA and was one of the most consistent pitchers in the American League.
Rasmussen also has an especially dominant record against New York: he has a 1.81 ERA in 10 regular-season starts against the Yankees.
Rasmussen has been a problem for several New York batters
The difficulty of facing Rasmussen is not only a general perception.
Several major Yankees hitters have had problems against him.
Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ryan McMahon present modest numbers in their previous matchups against the law.
That forces New York to avoid desperate shifts.
Rasmussen is especially dangerous when he gets ahead of the count and can start expanding the area.
The patience shown against Boston will have to be maintained from the first inning.
Cam Schlittler can be decisive in two games
After Cole, the Yankees are planning to use Cam Schlittler in Game 2.
The right-hander finished 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts during a season that placed him in the American League Cy Young conversation.
In addition, it comes from throwing 6⅓ blank innings with 10 strikeouts against Boston in its first start of this postseason.
The calendar layout can allow Schlittler to launch again in a possible game 5.
That offers New York the ability to use one of its most dominant arms twice in Tropicana Field if the series reaches the limit.
Max Fried and Carlos Rodón increase depth
Rotation is probably the biggest source of flexibility for Aaron Boone.
Max Fried comes from allowing a run in six innings in the game that eliminated Boston and has an excellent background against Tampa Bay.
In seven race starts against the Rays, Fried is 5-1 and a 1.81 ERA.
Carlos Rodón also represents an important option. In his last regular season start he pitched eight blank innings precisely against Tampa Bay.
That means the Yankees can build a series with Cole, Schlittler, Fried and Rodón without overly relying on any individual arm.
The bullpen can decide the closed matches
Both teams have enough arms to turn any advantage after the sixth inning into a problem for the opposing offense.
David Bednar remains one of New York's leading relievers, accompanied by Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick.
The Yankees also evaluate making changes to the roster used against Boston. Tim Hill and Ryan Weathers appear among the alternatives that could reinforce the group to face Tampa.
The Rays have at Bryan Baker a reliable option to close matches and can build the bridge to the ninth inning with different combinations depending on the matchup.
In a short series, the leaders do not have to manage the bullpen thinking about a full week. That means the best arms can appear much earlier than usual.
Tropicana Field represents an important advantage for Tampa
The Rays finished 55-26 playing at home during the regular season.
In addition, five of their seven wins against the Yankees this year came at Tropicana Field.
The stage also favors various Tampa features: speed, defense and race-making ability.
The Yankees will have to find a way to get at least one victory in the first two games before returning to the Bronx.
The series will move to Yankee Stadium for Game 3 and a possible Game 4, before returning to Tampa for a possible fifth match.
Young people in New York arrive without fear on stage
Another difference from the Yankees who started the season is in the participation of their young players.
Lombard Jr. hit four hits during the Wild Card and showed peace of mind despite playing his first postseason games.
Spencer Jones used his speed to generate one of the sequences that helped break Game 2 against Boston.
Rice has already established himself as a centerpiece of the offensive.
And Schlittler went straight from an extraordinary season to dominating a playoff game.
The Yankees are no longer using those players just to gain experience. Now they depend on them to try to move forward.
The keys to the Yankees against Tampa Bay
New York needs to transfer to ALDS several of the things that worked against Boston.
First, the starters have to keep the parties under control. Cole and Schlittler will have a responsibility to prevent Tampa from playing with an advantage during the first games.
Second, the defense has to execute. Rays will seek to cause errors by speed, touch and constant contact.
Third, the offensive cannot depend exclusively on the home run. Against Rasmussen and the rest of Tampa's pitching there will probably be few clear opportunities.
And finally, the Yankees will have to continue to receive production from different parts of the lineup, regardless of whether Judge manages to return.
a series that can be decided by small details
Regular season results show how close these teams were.
Tampa won seven of the 13 matchups, just one more than New York.
The Rays were better at Tropicana Field. The Yankees had better results against them in the Bronx.
Both have deep rotations, bullpens capable of protecting advantages and offensives that they can produce in different ways.
That's why this divisional series probably won't just depend on which team hits the most home runs.
A stolen base, a well-executed touch, a defensive error, a baseball with two outs or a decision of the bullpen can end up tilting a game.
The Yankees arrive on impulse after eliminating Boston.
Tampa arrives rested and with the advantage of local.
Now a whole new series begins.
And between two teams that know each other, you can end up winning the one with the fewest mistakes when the pressure is higher.