postseason for the Red

NEW YORK — During the fifth inning Saturday Early Wynn Jersey , Giancarlo Stanton struck out swinging on a high strike that sent his momentum toward the ground. He then slammed his right fist on the dirt to express his disgust at how the at-bat ended.It was that kind of day for the New York Yankees, who hope to rebound from a difficult showing at the plate Sunday afternoon in the finale of a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays.Stanton hit his 34th homer in his next at-bat but the Yankees fell behind by seven runs before their furious comeback fell short and they were handed an 8-7 loss.Article continues below ...Didi Gregorius homered twice and Miguel Andujar hit his second career grand slam to cap a six-run seventh, but the Yankees could not overcome striking out 16 times, stranding 10 going 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.“We have a group in there capable of turning this thing in a heartbeat,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got to keep battling through this right now. I feel like we are showing some signs of pulling ourselves out of it a little bit, but we’ve got to do better.” As a result, their uneven play of late continued. The Yankees (91-57) are 8-10 since Aug. 26 and what was once a 4 1/2 game lead over Oakland for home field in the wild card game is down to 1 1/2.“Does it concern us? Yeah, because we’re supposed to win,” Gregorius said. “You always want to play to win. That’s what’s going on. That’s what you want to do, for us. We’re not playing that way right now, but I think we’ll pick it up soon.”The Blue Jays will try to get their first series of the season from the Yankees. They are 5-13 against the New York but hit three homers and held on to snap a four-game losing streak.Randall Grichuk homered twice while Kevin Pilar added one.Sunday could be manager John Gibbons last game managing the Blue Jays in Yankee Stadium, across the street from where his first managerial stint with the team began in August 2004.“I’m a fan of the history of baseball,” Gibbons said Friday. “This is a new stadium but it’s still Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park … You look back to the first time you were there and you’re kind of in awe of those places. You never know either if you’re ever going to come back so you try to enjoy it.” New York right-hander Lance Lynn looks to reach double figures in wins for the sixth straight season when he makes his eighth start for the Yankees. After going 7-8 for Minnesota Avisail Garcia Jersey , he is 2-2 with a 4.79 ERA in eight appearances for the Yankees.Lynn rebounded from an ugly outing Sept. 2 against Detroit on Sept. 8 when he allowed two runs on three hits in six innings of a 4-2 win at Seattle.Lynn is 0-2 with a 6.88 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against the Blue Jays. He took a no-decision against them Aug. 17 in a 7-5 New York win when he allowed four of his five runs in the first inning and lasted four frames.Rookie Thomas Pannone makes his fourth career start for the Blue Jays and 10th appearance. As a starting pitcher, he is 2-1 with a 4.86 ERA.Pannone last pitched a week ago in a 6-2 victory over Cleveland when he allowed two runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesAfter six months and 162 regular-season games, the real action has begun with the 2018 MLB playoffs.The American League bracket had been set for some time with three 100-win teams and two more dangerous squads all having their eyes on a World Series title. On the other hand, the National League playoffs remained a mess until the final day.There are now just two teams remaining. The margin for error at this point is slim, likely creating plenty of drama until a World Series champion is crowned.Here is what you need to know for the playoffs, with a bracket available at MLB.com.2018 MLB Playoff ScheduleTiebreaker GamesMilwaukee Brewers defeat Chicago Cubs, 3-1Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Colorado Rockies, 5-2National League Wild Card GameColorado Rockies defeat Chicago Cubs, 2-1 (13 innings) American League Wild Card GameNew York Yankees defeat Oakland A's, 7-2 National League Division Series (Milwaukee Brewers defeat Colorado Rockies 3-0)Game 1: Milwaukee Brewers def. Colorado Rockies, 3-2 (10 innings)Game 2: Milwaukee Brewers def. Colorado Rockies, 4-0Game 3: Milwaukee Brewers def. Colorado Rockies, 6-0 National League Division Series (Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Atlanta Braves 3-1)Game 1: Los Angeles Dodgers def. Atlanta Braves http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-frank-thomas-jersey , 6-0Game 2: Los Angeles Dodgers def. Atlanta Braves, 3-0Game 3: Atlanta Braves def. Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5Game 4: Los Angeles Dodgers def. Atlanta Braves; 6-2 American League Division Series (Boston Red Sox defeat New York Yankees 3-1)Game 1: Boston Red Sox def. New York Yankees, 5-4Game 2: New York Yankees def. Boston Red Sox, 6-2Game 3: Boston Red Sox def. New York Yankees16-1Game 4: Boston Red Sox def. New York Yankees, 4-3 American League Division Series (Houston Astros defeat Cleveland Indians 3-0)Game 1: Houston Astros def. Cleveland Indians, 7-2Game 2: Houston Astros def. Cleveland Indians, 3-1Game 3: Houston Astros def. Cleveland Indians, 11-3 National League Championship Series (Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Milwaukee Brewers 4-3)Game 1: Milwaukee Brewers def. Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5Game 2: Los Angeles Dodgers def. Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3Game 3: Milwaukee Brewers def. Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-0Game 4: Los Angeles Dodgers def.Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 (13 innings)Game 5:Los Angeles Dodgers def. Milwaukee Brewers Bobby Jenks Jersey , 5-2Game 6:Milwaukee Brewers def. Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-2Game 7: Los Angeles Dodgers def. Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1 American League Championship Series (Boston Red Sox defeatHouston Astros 4-1)Game 1: Houston Astros def. Boston Red Sox, 7-2Game 2: Boston Red Sox def.Houston Astros, 7-5Game 3: Boston Red Sox def. Houston Astros, 8-2Game 4: Boston Red Sox def. Houston Astros, 8-6Game 5: Boston Red Sox def. Houston Astros, 4-1 World Series (Boston Red Sox defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1)Game 1: Boston Red Sox def.Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-4Game 2: Boston Red Sox def.Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2Game 3: Los Angeles Dodgers def. Boston Red Sox, 3-2 (18 innings)Game 4: Boston Red Sox def. Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-6Game 5: Boston Red Sox def. Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1Full schedule available at MLB.com. Top StorylinesThe Brewers Finally LostJustin Edmonds/Getty ImagesSometimes http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-michael-jordan-jersey , playoff success simply comes down to being hot at the right time, and that was perfectly fine for the Milwaukee Brewers.The squad had seven straight wins to match the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central and then followed it up with a win in Game 163 to avoid the Wild Card game. While the division rivals were eliminated in the sudden-death game, Milwaukee went onto sweep the Colorado Rockies.The 11 straight wins put them in rare territory in MLB history:MLB Stat of the Day MLBStatoftheDayThe Brewers are riding an 11-game winning streak into the #NLCS.Talk about getting hot at the perfect time. HUm9UVJioIThe winning streak grew to 12 games with Milwaukee's victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers to open the NLCS.Alas, the Dodgers finally ended the win streak in Game 2 of the NLCS, when Justin Turner's two-run homer in the eighth inning gave them a 4-3 win.But the Brewers remained one of the best stories in baseball. Christian Yelich was the big star as the likely MVP in the National League, but there were other players who helped put the games in the hands of the bullpen. This is where the real strength of the team was as Josh Hader, Corey Knebel, Jeremy Jeffress and others can shorten any game.While the Dodgers eliminated them, the Brewers were amazing since late September, even if their win streak finally came to a close. Ultimately, the Brewers just couldn't regain their momentum in time to save their season.Can the Red Sox Avoid a Final Let Down?Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty ImagesThere is something special about a playoff series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. While the first round was mostly filled with one-sided matchups, the AL East rivals at least held our attention due to the tension in every game.Just like during the regular season, Boston was the better team in the ALDS Carlton Fisk Jersey , winning the series in four games and earning bragging rights for the next five months.The problem is this was just the start of the postseason for the Red Sox.This team won 108 games this year so it is obviously talented, but the players are relatively inexperienced when it comes to playoff success. Most of the roster had never won a playoff series before this year, so winning one over a hated rival is certain to create a lot of excitement.Rookie manager Alex Cora responded, though, and rallied his team for a five-game victory over a very good Astros team.There are still lingering questions about top starters Chris Sale and David Price in the playoffs, so this is no time for Boston to relax. Sale was hospitalizedfor a stomach illness, and Price has struggled in the postseason throughout his career even though he allowed just three hits and zero runs in the closeout game against Houston.Boston was baseball's best team during the regular season. But the Dodgers represent a monumental challenge for the Sox in the World Series.