The Yankees looked poised to jump on Guardians ace Shane Bieber on Monday night, scoring two runs in the first inning off a Giancarlo Stanton double, but the Bombers were held quiet the rest of the night in a 3-2 loss.
For Tiki Barber, the inability to capitalize on Bieber was the latest benchmark in a disturbing trend that could come back to bite the Yanks again in October.
“The Yankees have started to really struggle against top-end pitching,” Tiki said. “There are times, like last night against Shane Bieber, where the Yankees just look lost, and it’s confounding at times. It’s frustrating at others. It’s not something that’s terminal. They’re gonna be fine, because they’re not gonna get a ton of these pitchers, but when you get to the postseason, I look at the Yankees’ lack of success against top-end pitching, and it gives you concern.”
Tiki doesn’t worry about the Yankees in the regular season, but once October arrives, and they consistently face the best pitching staffs in the league, he has concerns that the offense will crumble once again, like it did in the 2022 postseason, barely getting out of the ALDS before getting silenced by Houston’s rotation in an ALCS sweep.
“You saw it against the Astros. When those top-end pitchers take on the Yankees, they struggle,” Tiki said. “They struggled against the Guardians last season. it’s just something to keep an eye on, when you get a tram’s best pitchers lining up against the Yankees.
“If that trend doesn’t change, the Yankees can still win 97 games, but there will still be that worry.”
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