The New York Yankees have their backs against the wall, down 2-0 in the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians, and will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound in Game 3 on Sunday night back home at Yankee Stadium.
Indians vs. Yankees, ALDS Game 3: Start time, TV schedule, and live stream
Cleveland delivered a thrilling comeback win in Game 2 on Friday, 9-8 in 13 innings to take a two-game lead in the series, looking for a second straight year with a Division Series sweep.
Standing in their way is Tanaka, who had a trying year with a 4.74 ERA and 35 home runs allowed in his 30 starts, but he finished off his regular season with a bang, striking out 15 Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 29 in New York over seven shutout innings.
“We need him to pitch like he pitched the other day, where he had 15 strikeouts in the game,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on Saturday. “This is a team that’s going to grind out at-bats, and he needs to grind out at-bats with them.”
The Indians have won an astonishing 35 of their last 39 games.
ALDS Game 3 time, TV and streaming info
- Teams: Yankees (91-71) vs. Indians (102-60)
- Series: Cleveland leads, 2-0
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- First pitch: 7:38 p.m.
- Location: Yankee Stadium, New York, NY
- TV: FS1
- Streaming: Fox Sports Go
- Announcers: Matt Vasgersian, John Smoltz, Tom Verducci, Ken Rosenthal
Yankees vs. Indians news & notes
Girardi took a lot of heat for not challenging a hit by pitch call in Game 2. On Saturday, he owned up to his mistake, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com:
Immediately after Cleveland took a 2-0 series lead, Girardi said the Yankees had not received a super slow-motion replay in time to challenge and that he had not wanted to disrupt Green’s rhythm. He expressed regret for that decision on Saturday.
“I screwed up. And it’s hard,” Girardi said. “It’s a hard day for me. But [I’ve] got to move forward and we’ll be ready to go [on Sunday].”
Indians designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion on Friday left the clubhouse on crutches after Game 2, but won’t be replaced on the roster, per Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:
“There’s no fracture, it’s just the ligaments and I’m going to be day-to-day,” said Encarnacion, when asked what the MRI of his ankle showed.
Said Francona, “I don’t know if remarkably better is a good way to say it, but he’s pretty close. He’s doing much better today. I don’t think he’s going to start on Sunday, but he’s not been ruled out either.
“So we’ll allow him to continue to get treatment. But if he’s close to being available, that’s a really good sign. So we’re obviously not going to do anything roster wise.”
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