ALDS Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox

And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Rivalry renewed. ALDS renewed. Game Four, let’s go. In the start tonight the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound in front of his home crowd to face off with Rick Porcello for the Boston Red Sox. The game will be played at 8:07 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on TBS. You can also follow along with the game on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. As much flak as Sterling and Waldman get from some Yankees fans, at least they aren’t these TBS announcers, right?

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the New York Yankees all postseason long. Enjoy the game, send Boston home crying with their tails between their legs, and go Yankees!!

ALDS Game Four Preview: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will continue the 2018 American League Division Series tonight with the fourth game of the best-of-five series. Backs are against the wall, tensions are high, and it is win or go home for one of these teams. Every game is a must-win for the Yankees in the postseason no matter what the scoreboard says, so let’s get it done and let’s get to it here in the Bronx.

Sabathia will make his 23^rd career postseason starts and his first against the Boston Red Sox in the playoffs since October of 2007. Sabathia has not been great against Boston this year during the regular season, but this is the second season and none of that matters now. 162 games for nothing.

Porcello won 17 games for the Red Sox during the regular season and has already seen New York once during this ALDS after pitching out of the bullpen in Game One. Porcello has not pitched well in the postseason for Boston posting a 7.56 ERA in his first two postseason starts for the Red Sox.

The game will be played at 8:07 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on TBS. You can also follow along with the game on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. As much flak as Sterling and Waldman get from some Yankees fans, at least they aren’t these TBS announcers, right?

Enjoy the game, VICTORY, and go Yankees!!

Hello… Game Four

Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. I predicted before the series started that the New York Yankees would beat the Boston Red Sox in five games. I predicted this because I wanted the Yankees to clinch the series inside Fenway Park after the Red Sox clinched the AL East Division crown inside Yankee Stadium, but also because I knew how closely matched these two teams truly were. Game Four will be played tonight in the Bronx in front of the Yankee Stadium faithful and I truly cannot wait. I expect a zoo inside the Bronx tonight, and will settle for nothing less. Go Yankees!!

And baby, another playoff game we get to watch together. You are my good luck charm, in life and in baseball. I love you so much. I love who you are, I love what you are, and I love that you mean so much to me, my world and to my existence. I am nothing without you. Thank you for being you.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics

And just like that playoff baseball has returned to us all and returned to the Bronx, New York as the New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium play host to the Oakland Athletics. One game to decide a season. One game to decide the fate of both clubs. One game to decide it all. The Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound with the pressure of protecting Yankee Stadium and continuing their season while the Athletics will send Liam Hendriks to the mound looking to play the spoiler. Neither team wants to go home and neither team wants their seasons to end here, but which team wants it just a little more? Let’s find out.

The game will be played at 8:00 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and can be seen on TBS.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the New York Yankees all season long. Enjoy the game, put up a five-spot in the first inning, and go Yankees!!

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics

The New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics will kick off the American League Wild Card Playoff Round and the 2018 American League Postseason tonight in the Bronx. Get excited. Whether you believe this is a playoff game or not is irrelevant as the 2018 postseason officially kicks off tonight to everyone who makes those decisions and to everyone whose opinion matters, so leave your negative thoughts about the contest at the door. The second season has begun, let’s get to it.

In the game tonight the Yankees have named Luis Severino as their Wild Card Game starter while the Athletics have decided to counter the Yankees right-hander with Liam Hendriks.

Severino will start his second consecutive Wild Card Game at Yankee Stadium hoping for better results in this start than his last. Severino was knocked out in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins in the 2017 American League Wild Card Game after allowing three runs on two home runs in an eventual Yankees come-from-behind victory. None of that tonight. Nothing but zeroes, please and thanks. Severino, a 24-year old right-hander, was 19-8 this season with a 3.39 ERA and 220 strikeouts, although the righty was 14-2 at the All-Star Break before a second half collapse of sorts.

Hendriks has been a relief pitcher for the Athletics here in 2018, but he is no stranger to the life of a starting pitcher. Hendricks has seen his season ride a roller coaster after being designated for assignment and clearing waivers in June, only to come back and start the biggest game to date for the Athletics here in 2018. Hendricks, a 29-year old right-hander, was 0-1 with a 4.13 ERA in 25 appearances this season,

The game will be played at 8:00 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and can be seen on TBS.

Enjoy the game, win the game or go home… and I am not ready to go home just yet, and for the love of God… go Yankees!!

NL Wild Card Game Thread: Colorado Rockies @ Arizona Diamondbacks

And just like that ladies and gentleman it is game time once again as the National League takes center stage tonight with the NL Wild Card Game. In tonight’s matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies there will be no secrets, no new strategies or tricks and there will be no element of surprise. These two teams have faced off 19 times this season including ten times coming inside Chase Field where the game is about to kick off. This game will be closely played between these two teams and one mistake could be the difference between going on to face off with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS and going home for the winter. The Diamondbacks will send Zack Greinke to the mound looking to punch Arizona’s ticket to the NLDS while Jon Gray will head to the mound for Colorado with similar plans for him and his Rockies teammates. The game will be played at 8:08 pm ET inside Chase Field and can be seen on TBS. Enjoy the game!

Prediction: Diamondbacks win 3-1

Diamondbacks:

RF David Peralta (.293, 14, 57)

SS Ketel Marte (.260, 5, 18)

1B Paul Goldschmidt (.297, 36, 120, 94 BBs, .966 OPS)

LF J.D. Martinez (.303, 45, 104, 1.066 OPS)

3B Jake Lamb (.248, 30, 105)

CF A.J. Pollock (.266, 14, 49)

2B Daniel Descalso (.233, 10, 51)

C Jeff Mathis (.215, 2, 11)

Chris Iannetta (.254, 17, 43, .354 OBP)

Zack Greinke (17-7, 3.20, 215 Ks in 202 1/3 IP)

RH Fernando Rodney (5-4, 4.23, 39/45 saves)

RH Archie Bradley (3-3, 1.73, 79 Ks)

LH Andrew Chafin (1-0, 3.51)

LH Robbie Ray (15-5, 2.89, 218 Ks)

LH Patrick Corbin (14-13, 4.03)

RH Zack Godley (8-9, 3.37)

RH David Hernandez (2-1, 4.82)

RH Jimmie Sherfy (2-0, 0.00)

Rockies:

CF Charlie Blackmon (.331, 37 HRs, 104 RBIs, 14 triples, 14 SBs)

2B DJ LeMahieu (.310, 8, 64)

3B Nolan Arenado (.309, 37, 130)

RF Carlos Gonzalez (.262, 14, 57, 34 doubles)

SS Trevor Story (.239, 24, 82)

1B Mark Reynolds (.267, 30, 97)

LF Ian Desmond (.274, 7, 40)

C Jonathan Lucroy (.265, 6, 40)

Jon Gray (10-6, 3.67 ERA in 20 starts, 110 1/3 IP)

RH Greg Holland (3-6, 3.61 ERA, 41/45 saves)

LH Mike Dunn (5-1, 4.47)

LH Jake McGee (0-2, 3.61, 3 saves)

RH Scott Oberg (0-1, 4.94)

RH Pat Neshek (5-3, 1.59)

LH Chris Rusin (5-1, 2.65)

The Diamondbacks beat the Rockies 11 out of 19 times these two teams faced one another in 2017. These two teams split the ten games at Chase Field with five wins each though.

Colorado swept Arizona in the 2007 NLCS, the only other time these two teams have met in the postseason.

The Rockies offense has a collective .260 batting average with 15 home runs and 42 RBI career against Zack Greinke.

The Diamondbacks offense has a collective .295 batting average with two home runs and 11 RBI against Jon Gray.

Zack Greinke is 13-1 with a 2.87 ERA at home this season. Greinke is also 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA in five starts against the Rockies this season.

Gray has allowed three or fewer runs in 13 consecutive starts this season.

Fernando Rodney had six blown saves in 2017, two of them came against the Colorado Rockies. 

NL Wild Card Game Preview: Colorado Rockies @ Arizona Diamondbacks

Last night we watched as the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees fought it out in a one-game, do-or-die playoff game in the American League Wild Card Game and tonight it’s the National League’s turn to take center stage as the Arizona Diamondbacks play host to the Colorado Rockies. The winner travels to square off with the Los Angeles Dodgers while the loser goes home for a winter full of golf, working out and wondering what could have gone differently. In the start tonight the Diamondbacks will send Zack Greinke to the mound to face off with Jon Gray for the Rockies. These two teams have seen each other a bunch this season as both are members of the NL West Division so this one should be a highly contested matchup. I look forward to it.

Greinke was brought in as a free agent to start games like this for the Diamondbacks, especially after the Cy Young type season the right-hander had in 2017. Greinke heads into the start tonight with a career 3-3 record in the postseason along with a 3.55 ERA in nine postseason starts. Youth and aggression in Gray or experience in Greinke, who wins out tonight in the desert?

Gray has not allowed more than three runs in a start in any of his last 13 starts and brings that streak with him into Chase Field tonight in the postseason. During that span Gray has surrendered just 16 walks to his 80 strikeouts and will look to do more of the same tonight against a tough offense, but an offense that struggled a bit down the stretch. Most notably NL MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt.

The game will be played at 8:08 pm ET inside Chase Field home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and can be seen on TBS. Follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes to interact with us during the game and to stay up to date with us and the blog all throughout the 2017 MLB playoffs. Enjoy the game!

MLB Postseason Scoreboard Watching for 10/15/16

Last night the American League Championship series took center stage for all MLB fans to see and tonight the National League Championship series kicks off between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs inside historic Wrigley Field. The Blue Jays and Indians also play the second game inside Progressive Field this series as well so it should be a full day of playoff baseball for us all to enjoy.

Toronto Blue Jays @ Cleveland Indians (Game 2) – 4:08 pm ET on TBS

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Chicago Cubs (Game 1) – 8:08 pm ET on Fox Sports One

Good luck all and Happy Friday to everyone reading. 

MLB Playoff Schedule for 10/11/16

Ladies and gentleman it’s do-or-die time for the American League and National League Championship series if they don’t end before tonight. At the time of this writing this is the schedule for today but this is subject to change, please keep that in mind before clicking the send button on the hate mail. Thanks.

Cleveland Indians @ Boston Red Sox (Game 5 if necessary) – 2:08 pm ET on TBS

Washington Nationals @ Los Angeles Dodgers (Game 4) – 5:05 pm ET on Fox Sports One

Chicago Cubs @ San Francisco Giants (Game 4 if necessary) – 8:40 pm ET on Fox Sports One

MLB Playoff Scoreboard Watching for 10/6

The American League and National League Wild Card Games are now in the books so now we move onto the Division Series. There will be a few matchups to watch including the rematch from the 2015 ALDS between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers and any game that involves the Chicago Cubs. That team is just fun to watch. Also any game could be David Ortiz’s last so also be on the lookout for that.

Without further ado here is the playoff schedule tonight for your viewing pleasure:

Toronto Blue Jays @ Texas Rangers – Ballpark in Arlington @ 4:38 pm ET on TBS

Boston Red Sox @ Cleveland Indians – Progressive Field at 8:08 pm ET on TBS

NL Wild Card Game Preview: New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants 10/5

The National League takes center stage tonight as the New York Mets return home to host one playoff game against the San Francisco Giants. Win or go home and one team will do just that after tonight while the other heads to Chicago and Wrigley Field to take on the Chicago Cubs. Ladies and gentleman they call that a gift and a curse for the winner but no one is thinking that far ahead tonight as they have to first take care of business tonight inside Citi Field. In the game the New York Mets will send Noah Syndergaard to the mound to square off with the Giants starter Madison Bumgarner in what should be one of the better pitching matchups of the postseason. Let’s get to it.

Snydergaard will start the Wild Card Game for the Mets on seven days of rest which could be a good thing or a bad thing for Terry Collins tonight. The Mets were saving him for the final day of the season if they team needed a victory to get into the postseason after the righty led the Mets starters in ERA and strikeouts while making his case of the NL Cy Young Award.

Bumgarner heads into this start fresh off setting a single-season Giants franchise record for strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher. Bumgarner only faced the Mets once this season and he did so inside Citi Field where the game will take place tonight. In that May 1^st start Bumgarner struck out seven while hurling six shutout innings in a win over New York. 

The game will be played at 8:05 pm ET inside Citi Field and can be seen nationally on TBS. The playoffs really get kicked off after the AL and NL Wild Card games are over and you know both teams didn’t work this hard just to go home in one-game without a fight. What a game this should be and truth be told I think I am more excited about this one than I was the American League’s Wild Card Game.

Good luck to both teams and enjoy the game. 

AL Wild Card Game Thread: Baltimore Orioles @ Toronto Blue Jays 10/4

Here we go ladies and gentleman, baseball is back and the postseason has begun. The New York Yankees did not qualify for the postseason unfortunately in 2016 but three teams from their AL East Division did including both of tonight’s participants in the American League Wild Card Game, the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays. In the start tonight the Orioles will send Chris Tillman to the mound to face off with Marcus Stroman for the Blue Jays. Not that you need a reminder by now but this is a one-game playoff game that decides it all, win or go home. The game will take place at 8:05 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre and can be seen nationally on TBS.

I don’t have a horse in this race so for the first time in 162 games I’m simply going to just sit back and enjoy baseball. You know, the way it should be done. Good luck to both team’s tonight and may the better team, manager, pitching and offense win. Enjoy.

Predicting Tonight’s AL Wild Card Winner

Okay ladies and gentleman. We’ve previewed the game and we know what each offense has done against the other’s starting pitcher for the night so now all that’s left is to pick a winner. Truth be told I think home field advantage is a pretty minimal advantage in Major League Baseball in most cases but I think the Toronto faithful proved last postseason that they can be the key factor in a game. In short, they can get loud and that has to get inside the head of the pitching and for that reason I have the Toronto Blue Jays winning this game tonight.

I can see this turning into an offensive explosion for both team’s due to the big stage and the pressure with the Blue Jays winning the game 6-2. Buck Showalter won’t be happy but I have a feeling millions of Yankees fans will be when they see him drop his head and walk into the dugout after the loss. Just a hunch. I guess you’ll have to tune in here in a couple of hours to see if I’m right.

Full Disclaimer: I’m hardly ever right so don’t bet the bank on it. 

AL Wild Card Game Preview: Baltimore Orioles @ Toronto Blue Jays 10/4

The Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays are preparing for their AL Wild Card showdown tonight inside Toronto’s Rogers Centre in what should be another exciting matchup between the two clubs. These two teams are both in the American League East Division meaning that they have seen each other plenty over the course of the 2016 season. There will be little in the way of surprises tonight in Toronto which could make for a strategical game called by both managers like we haven’t seen before. The game will live and die by the pitching though like it always has in the history of Major League Baseball and tonight’s pitching matchup should not disappoint as the Baltimore Orioles send Chris Tillman to the mound to square off with the Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman. 

Here we go.

Tillman will start the AL Wild Card Game for the Orioles with Baltimore's season on the line. Tillman has faced the Blue Jays four times this season already and has posted a 1-0 record with a 3.63 ERA. 

Stroman is easily the Blue Jays ace and with the season on the line he is the only option for Toronto to start this game tonight despite his struggles against Baltimore this season. Stroman has also made four starts against the Orioles this season and has posted a 1-2 record with a 7.04 ERA in that span, ouch. 

The game will be played at 8:05 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre and can be seen nationally on TBS. While it’s a shame that the New York Yankees can’t be in it this season the playoffs should still be fun and entertaining for all and that all begins tonight. Enjoy the game everyone. 

2016 MLB Playoffs Schedule for 10/4/16

Here we go ladies and gentleman, the beginning of the 2016 MLB playoffs. I know this is a Yankees-centric blog but we will be watching these playoffs very closely and trying to expand our outreach a bit over the next month or so. If you see a little more non-Yankees related content than normal don’t fret, it will return. There just isn’t much going on right now with the Yankees not in it and generally most Yankees fans still watch the postseason anyway. Don’t worry though, once the postseason is over we will go back to all Yankees all the time.

With that said there is just one game on the docket for tonight, the AL Wild Card Game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays. The game will begin at 8:05 pm ET inside Rogers Centre and can be seen on TBA. Check it out and enjoy.

Baltimore Orioles @ Toronto Blue Jays – 8:05 pm ET on TBS inside the Rogers Centre.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 9/26

Here we go ladies and gentleman, the first meaningless game of the season for the New York Yankees. The team had a great run in them with their infusion of youth but the team just couldn't get it done. That's fine though because the amount of experience in a pennant race that this team got you absolutely cannot put a number on or a stat to. So today we play like we have every other day just without the expectations or pressure. New York will send Michael Pineda to the mound while the Jays counter with Marco Estrada. The game will be played at 1:07 pm ET inside Rogers Centre and can be seen on the YES Network, TBS and MLB TV.

Nothing snazzy here. Season is over. Go Yankees!

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 9/25

Good morning everyone and Happy Sunday to you all. This could possibly be the first meaningless game of the Yankees season this afternoon inside the Rogers Centre after the New York offense has made it a habit of disappearing at the worst possible times here down the stretch. So here we go as the New York Yankees send Michael Pineda to the mound to face off with the Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada.

Pineda looked much better than he had in his last start where he struck out 11 Tampa Bay Rays batters while allowing just two runs on five hits in 5.1 innings of work. Pineda also pitched well against Toronto last time out against them as well throwing five scoreless innings on August 16th in the Bronx. 

The game will be played at 1:07 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre and can be seen on the YES Network, TBS and MLB TV. I said this on Twitter yesterday but it's worth repeating again today. It's funny how teams say you can't win a division in April or May but if you can't win one how come you can lose one? The Yankees started out this season 9-17, swap those records and the Yankees are in the postseason. Even out the records at 13-13 and the Yankees are four games closer to the Wild Card and the division. Check the standings and do the math. Depressing, isn't it? Go Yankees!

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. San Francisco Giants 7/24

The New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants will finish off their three-game weekend set this afternoon in the Bronx. In the finale the Giants will send Jeff Samardzija to the mound in what could be, on paper heading into this series in my opinion anyway, the Yankees best chance to win a game while the Yankees counter with Nathan Eovaldi. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network, TBS and MLB TV.

Get your Yankees Tickets by clicking the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and get your TGP T-Shirts by clicking that link also located at the top of the blog. You can support the Yankees who are winning more than they are losing all of a sudden while also supporting the blog.

Eovaldi is ready and so is the Yankees offense. Let's get it. Go Yankees!

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. San Francisco Giants 7/24

The New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants will finish off their three-game set this weekend in the Bronx with an afternoon getaway game for both clubs. After this series the Yankees are headed to Houston to face off with the Houston Astros while the Giants are going anywhere but here, I really wouldn't mind them staying to be honest because this series has been fun for me. In the finale the Yankees will send Nathan Eovaldi back to the mound after a brief stint in the bullpen while the Giants will send out Jeff Samardzija who was pushed back a day for this start.


Eovaldi has made one start since being reinserted into the bullpen and will look to be just as sharp this afternoon as he was in that start. Eovaldi threw more fastballs in his last start than he had for much of this season and he had great success with it.


Samardzija has not been the greatest pitcher when it comes to Interleague Play during his career which is evident by his 15 career starts, 3-9 win/loss record and his 5.28 ERA. Samardzija has also been pretty home run prone lately allowing 12 home runs in his last eight starts which doesn’t bode well when you are set to pitch inside Yankee Stadium in an afternoon game.


The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network, TBS and MLB TV. I love afternoon games on a lazy Sunday. Now truth be told I tend to fall asleep while watching them but isn't that what Sunday afternoons were made for? I thought so. Go Yankees!

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays 9/13

The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are set to play their third game in 24 hours and fourth game in about 48 hours head-to-head in the Bronx. The series has seen its ups and downs for both teams including injuries to Troy Tulowitzki, the return of Marcus Stroman, the emergence of Greg Bird continuing and the fall of Luis Severino for at least one night. This afternoon the Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound in the finale against the Blue Jays starter RA Dickey. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11, TBS and MLB TV.

The Yankees finish off this four game series today before making the trip down to Tropicana Field to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees need a win today and need a series win, or sweep, down in Tampa to keep the pressure on Toronto. To root for the home team and interact with us during each and every Yankees game head over to Twitter and give @GreedyStripes a follow.

Tanaka is the ace and he's ready to set the tone. Go Yankees! Happy Tanaka Day.