Yankees know it's now or never: 'So let's go'

The Yankees trudged to their clubhouse in the wake of Wednesday¡¯s Game 3 of the American League Division Series, carrying their bats, gloves and more than a few what-ifs through the corridors of Petco Park. The math is simple now: win two games or go home.

Perhaps their predicament would be different if Masahiro Tanaka had found an answer for hot-hitting rookie Randy Arozarena, or if Luke Voit -- up 3-0 in the count with the bases loaded in the third and the score tied at 1 -- had not taken a pair of questionable strikes before grounding out sharply to short to end the threat. Or, if they hadn¡¯t tried a surprise opener one night prior -- all topics to chew on following the Yanks¡¯ 8-4 loss to the Rays.

¡°We know what we need to do,¡± Giancarlo Stanton said. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a tough battle, but there¡¯s no other option. We know what¡¯s in front of us, and that¡¯s all you can do. What¡¯s happened has happened. We know we need to get some wins.¡±

Despite Stanton¡¯s sixth playoff homer, a late two-run blast that made the designated hitter the first big leaguer to homer in each of his team¡¯s first five games of a postseason, the Yanks are pinned against the wall. How they respond will author the story of their 2020 season.

¡°That¡¯s the nature of the postseason -- you¡¯re going to have some highs and lows along the way,¡± manager Aaron Boone said. ¡°Every loss hurts and stings, but we have a great opportunity in front of us, still. We¡¯re in control of things. We¡¯ve got to go out, try to get a ¡®W¡¯ tomorrow and force this thing to a Game 5.¡±

In the history of best-of-five postseason series, teams with a 2-1 lead have gone on to win the series 62 of 87 times (71 percent). However, last season, two of the three teams that fell behind 2-1 in the Division Series -- the Nationals (vs. Dodgers) and Cardinals (vs. Braves) -- came back to win.

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After Tanaka¡¯s start was nudged back a day when Boone green-lighted an unsuccessful Game 2 call for the tandem of Deivi Garc¨ªa and J.A. Happ, the right-hander was tagged for five runs on eight hits over four-plus innings, surrendering a three-run homer to Kevin Kiermaier before being chased by Arozarena¡¯s third blast of the series.

Unless his teammates rally, that spinning slider to the ¡°Cuban Rocket¡± could mark Tanaka¡¯s final pitch of an otherwise stellar seven-year run in pinstripes -- a possibility Tanaka has voiced several times over the past few weeks, but one that he was not prepared to discuss on Wednesday.

¡°There's only frustration there,¡± Tanaka said through a translator. ¡°I thought that I was well-prepared going into this game, so that makes it even more frustrating.¡±

The Yankees managed two runs (one earned) over five innings against Charlie Morton, banging on the door in the third inning, interrupting the right-hander¡¯s flow as he struggled to throw strikes from the stretch.

Aaron Judge lifted a sacrifice fly and, after Aaron Hicks walked to load the bases, Voit reached down to unbuckle his shin guard following a 3-0 sinker that was called a strike by home-plate umpire Mark Carlson. The next pitch was also close and ruled a strike, preceding Voit¡¯s inning-ending groundout.

¡°That¡¯s a big opportunity there,¡± Boone said. ¡°Morton, the first two innings, was cruising and really dictating some counts. We were able to get to him and create some traffic and get ahead in the count there. I thought one of those might have been off [the plate], but he made some pitches when he had to.¡±

One night after C.B. Bucknor¡¯s questionable zone was a factor in the Yanks¡¯ 18 strikeouts -- a Major League record in a nine-inning postseason game -- they also took issue in the fourth inning when Willy Adames walked on a close pitch that could have been a strikeout, throwout double play.

¡°I thought the pitch was borderline,¡± catcher Kyle Higashioka said. ¡°It definitely was a turning point in the game. That really could have swung the momentum our way, big time. ¡­ Earlier in the at-bat, he did call a pitch around that height for a strike. So it definitely could have gone our way.¡±

Instead, Kiermaier mashed Tanaka¡¯s next pitch over the right-field wall. Michael Perez tagged Chad Green for a two-run homer in the sixth that seemed to put the night out of reach; just another coulda-woulda-shoulda to occupy the Yankees¡¯ thoughts during their 40-minute commute north on Interstate 5.

¡°We¡¯ve still got a lot of baseball to play,¡± Judge said. ¡°Let¡¯s do our homework, refocus, recalibrate. We need to get ready for the next two days.¡±

The American League East rivals are under the same roof at a Carlsbad, Calif., resort, and if the Yankees want to extend their Southern California stay, they¡¯ll need to swiftly produce answers for a Rays team that has leaned upon run prevention to best them in 10 of 13 meetings this year, including the ALDS.

¡°We¡¯ve got to come out swinging,¡± Stanton said. ¡°It¡¯s now or never, so let¡¯s go.¡±