The Yankees head into their ALDS matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays carrying a losing regular-season record against them: Tampa Bay won seven of the 13 games the two clubs played this year.
Ben Rice could be a bright spot for New York if Aaron Judge’s availability becomes an issue. Rice posted his third-highest OPS against any opponent he faced at least five times this season, hitting .1320 against Tampa Bay with seven home runs and 12 RBIs. José Caballero drove in eight runs in the 13 games, and Ryan McMahon recorded seven RBIs and eight hits in 10 games against the Rays.
On the other side, Rays slugger Junior Caminero became the youngest player since at least 1900 to homer in six straight games this season and finished his second full big-league year with 42 home runs overall. Against the Yankees specifically, though, he managed just one homer and 10 hits in 13 games, striking out 10 times for a .565 OPS.
Venue matters here. The Yankees went 2-5 at Tropicana Field during the regular season, including an April sweep by Tampa Bay, and were outscored by a combined nine runs in those seven games. New York will need to win at least once at the climate-controlled stadium to advance — no small task given the club’s 79-95 record there since the start of the 2006 season.
Starting pitching gives the Yankees reason for confidence. Excluding Luis Gil, Ryan Weathers and Paul Blackburn, the four arms expected to anchor the postseason rotation — Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Max Fried — combined for a 2.75 ERA across nine regular-season starts against Tampa Bay, allowing just 17 earned runs in 55 2/3 innings. Fried, Schlittler and Rodón each worked at least eight innings in one of those outings.
Not every Yankee found success against the Rays. Cody Bellinger struggled badly, striking out 13 times in 47 at-bats — a 27.7 percent rate, well above the 16.9 percent he posted in his other 449 at-bats this season — while posting a .522 OPS against Tampa Bay pitching.
