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FILE – In this Sept. 1, 2020, file photo, Tampa Bay Rays pinch-hitter Michael Brosseau, left, is restrained by a coach as second base umpire Chad Fairchild (4) warns New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman to stay away from Brosseau as the two players exchanged words following the Rays’ 5-3 loss to the Yankees in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York. The altercation started after Chapman threw a high pitch at Brosseau. The Rays wear blue T-shirts with four horses lined up behind a fence, a reference to Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash declaring “I’ve got a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 miles an hour” in response to Aroldis Chapman throwing near the Mike Brosseau’s head on Sept. 1.
FILE – In this Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020, file photo, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, left, keeps watch on New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman as a teammate escorts Chapman off the field after benches cleared following a pitch Chapman threw close to Tampa Bay Rays pinch hitter Michael Brosseau’s head during the ninth inning of a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York. The Rays wear blue T-shirts with four horses lined up behind a fence, a reference to Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash declaring “I’ve got a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 miles an hour” in response to Aroldis Chapman throwing near the Mike Brosseau’s head on Sept. 1.
FILE – In this Sept. 1, 2020, file photo, Tampa Bay Rays pinch-hitter Michael Brosseau ducks away from a pitch from New York Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman during the ninth inning of a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, as catcher Kyle Higashioga reaches for the ball. The Rays wear blue T-shirts with four horses lined up behind a fence, a reference to Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash declaring “I’ve got a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 miles an hour” in response to Aroldis Chapman throwing near the Mike Brosseau’s head on Sept. 1.
FILE – In this Thursday, July 18, 2019, file photo, New York Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone yells at home plate umpire Brennan Miller during the second inning of the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays in New York. The Rays and Yankees will play in the American League Division Series beginning Monday, Oct. 5, 2020.
A capsule look at the best-of-five playoff series between the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in San Diego beginning Monday:
Season Series: Rays won 8-2.
Playoff Entry: second place, AL East.
Manager: Aaron Boone (third season).
Projected Rotation: RHP Gerrit Cole (7-3, 2.84 ERA, 94 Ks), RHP Masahiro Tanaka (3-3, 3.56, 44 Ks), LHP J.A. Happ (2-2, 3.47, 42 Ks), RHP Deivi García (3-2, 4.98, 33 Ks in 34 1/3 IP as rookie).
Top Hitters: 1B Luke Voit (.277, major league-leading 22 HRs, 52 RBIs), 2B DJ LeMahieu (major league-leading .364, 10, 27, 41 runs, 10 doubles, 1.011 OPS).
Top Relievers: LHP Aroldis Chapman (1-1, 3.09 ERA, 3 saves), LHP Zack Britton (1-2, 1.89, 8 saves). RHP Chad Green (3-3, 3.51, 1 save, 32 K in 25 2/3 IP).
Series Summary: The Yankees are in the playoffs for the fourth straight year but still looking for their first pennant since winning the 2009 World Series. … Favored to win the AL East, the Yankees alternated hot and cold spurts: a 16-6 start following by a 5-15 slide, a 10-game winning streak and six losses in their last eight games. … Played much better in the Bronx, going 22-9 at home and 11-18 on the road. … Offense was reliant on home runs, with 156 of 315 runs scoring on long balls during the regular season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, then 13 of 22 runs scoring on seven homers in the two-game sweep at Cleveland during first round of playoffs. The wild 10-9 win in Game 2 was the longest nine-inning game in major league history at 4 hours, 50 minutes. … Giancarlo Stanton hit .200 with one homer, four RBIs and 16 strikeouts in 35 at-bats after returning Sept. 15 from more than a month on the injured list with a strained left hamstring, then homered in each game vs. the Indians. … Aaron Judge also slumped after returning Sept. 16 from a strained right calf, with no homers and two RBIs, then was 1 for 9 with an early home run against Cleveland. … New York’s fielding percentage was its worst since 1973. … Backup catcher Kyle Higashioka will start behind the plate in the series opener again as Gary Sánchez sits. Cole had a 1.00 ERA while pitching to Higashioka (three earned runs in 27 innings) and a 3.91 ERA while pitching to Sánchez (20 earned runs in 46 innings) during the regular season, then allowed two runs over seven innings with 13 Ks and no walks while pitching to Higashioka in Game 1 against Cleveland. Cole and Higashioka have known each other since playing on a scout team together as teenagers in Southern California. … The big-budget Yankees lost the season series to the thrifty Rays for the first time since 2014. New York hit .218 with 13 homers against Tampa Bay, averaging 3.4 runs per game. Yankees pitchers had a 4.84 ERA vs. the Rays, allowing 47 runs and 16 homers. … Tampa Bay is 56-41 at home against the Yankees since 2010, winning its home season series nine times with one split.
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