There's no shame in losing Game 1 of the ALDS. Especially on the road to the well-rested Red Sox -- the best team on earth this year.
Maybe the Yankees would have lost no matter whom, how or when they played. Maybe Boston is that good. Maybe Mystique and Aura used to wear pinstripes, but Destiny now has an office inside Fenway Park.
And maybe the Yankees could have made a wiser decision on the mound. No disrespect to J.A. Happ, who's had a sublime late summer since being dealt to the Yankees, shoring up a rotation that suffered an implosion with Sonny Gray's lost season.
But the man pitching Game 2 -- Masahiro Tanaka -- would have been a better choice for Game 1. When it comes to autumn pitching in pinstripes, Happ is a tourist, while Tanaka has big game bona fides. The team's ace, Luis Severino, wasn't available after starting the wild-card game against Oakland. But Tanaka was rested and ready. (Heck, CC Sabathia has thrown more big pitching deeds under brown leaves than the rest of the rotation combined. Would anyone have been sad to see their hulking southpaw on the mound Friday night?)
PHOTOS: ALDS Game 1
The Red Sox jumped on Happ like a pack of lions on an impala, bursting out to a three-run lead before the crowd had found their seats. J.D. Martinez, living up to his "Just Dingers" sobriquet, smacked a three-run homer off Happ in the first inning, which set the tone for the next five innings. Sure, the Yankees had myriad shots to tie or take the lead -- including loading the bases in the seventh with no outs -- but that early-game bulge pushed the Bombers on their heels right away. Meanwhile, Happ lasted two innings, allowing four hits and five earned runs before being pulled for Chad Green.
In a best-of-five series, the Yankees could afford to lose Game 1 without losing much sleep. But Boston only needs two more wins to boot the Bombers from the playoffs. A better start from their starting pitcher, particularly with Red Sox ace Chris Sale not at his flame-throwing peak after shoulder issues, would have kept the Yankees closer in the game over the first few innings. The Yankees were 1-22 all-time when losing a playoff game by at least five runs. Make it 1-23.
After seeing Boston's bullpen struggle to keep the Yankees' nuclear lineup at bay, it's obvious that the only way the Red Sox can win is with their rotation, while the Yankees have a major edge in bullpen arms. After Happ belched five runs, four relievers tossed six sublime innings (four hits, no runs, five strikeouts), while Boston sweated out the 5-4 win. Some will moan about Aaron Hicks leaving the game with a tender hamstring, but his absence won't be the death blow for the Bombers, who set the MLB record with 267 homers this season.
Aaron Judge is proving to be a playoff monster. Luke Voit is only building on his cinematic ascent as a Yankee. And Didi Gregorius came back just in time to complete their lethal lineup. When Gleyber Torres is batting ninth, you have no right to grouse over losing Hicks, no matter how marvelous he's been this season.
MORE: Yankees' Aaron Hicks Exits ALDS Game 1 With Hamstring Tightness
They say a series doesn't truly begin until a road club wins a game. The Yankees need theirs tonight. And the stars are aligned for exactly that. Not only is Tanaka their big-game pitcher, the Red Sox start David Price, who's had an season's worth of woeful outings against the Yankees.
Maybe Tanaka is not the Yanks' most talented pitcher. But if you need a clutch, cagy outing from a veteran, he's the one you want on the mound. And if Tanaka wins Game 2, no one will care who started Game 1. If the Yankees lose, they will gaze up at a soaring 2-0 mountain against the team that won 108 games this season and would love nothing more than to grind their boots into some pinstriped throats.
The last time these clubs played in the playoffs, Boston climbed out of that 3-0 hole to shock the world on their way to the World Series. Maybe the Yankees could come back from an 2-0 deficit. They did it last year against the Indians. But Boston isn't Cleveland. You don't need a map to know that, or what's at stake Saturday night.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES (From WEEI in Boston)• Tomase: This Red Sox bullpen is going to be the death of us all• Game 1 of ALDS showed exactly why Red Sox signed J.D. Martinez• Chris Sale attitude on full display in postgame presser: 'They want me to throw 150 [pitches], I'm throwing 150 [pitches]'
