Yankees ALDS sweep would go a long way towards ALCS chances

With Luis Severino on the hill, the Yankees can wrap up the ALDS versus the Twins and better prepare themselves for a likely visit to Houston in the ALCS.

Let’s get one thing straight, no one inside the Yankees clubhouse is overlooking the Twins. In sports, taking an opponent lightly is often the first step to defeat.

However, the Yanks have now won 12 consecutive playoff games over Minnesota, and are 15-2 in their last 17 postseason games against the Twinkies.

Therefore, with their “ace,” Luis Severino, on the mound, New York should stick to their gameplan of attacking the strike zone early — and on the other side of the ball, continue to display patience and wait for their pitch, which has resulted in a total of 18 runs scored through the series first two contests.

On the brink of sweeping the ALDS, dropping one game to Jake Odorizzi and the 101-win Twins won’t be the end of the world, especially since the series would conclude in the Bronx, should it go the full five.

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But besides from a few daring sports columnists, the Yankees were always the proverbial favorites to reach the ALCS against the Astros, in a rematch of the climatic 2017 series.

And while the ‘Stros will send Zack Greinke to the hill to potentially sweep the Rays on Monday afternoon, Charlie Morton will face his old club with a legit shot of extending their series to Game 4.

At this point in the season, any advantage the Bombers can get they’ll take. It’s not that they fear any one club, but with home-field advantage lying with Houston, watching them play extra games from the comfort of New York is a welcome thought.

If you’ve tuned in for the other ALDS matchup, then you’ve witnessed just how dominant Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole have been for the ‘Stros at Minute Maid Park.

Verlander, who continues to get better with age, pitched seven innings of one-hit ball in the Game 1 6-2 win. Then Cole, the free-agent-to-be, struck out 15 batters (the third most in postseason history), including 33 swing and misses (most-ever since 2008) in 7.2 innings.

After the two likely Cy Young candidates, things get a little dicey for Houston, especially in the bullpen. However, with a stout offense and solid defensive play, the Yanks will need to continue to work the count and take advantage of any mistakes Houston’s two-headed monster muster.

Of course, we’ve still got Game 3 of the ALDS to complete on Monday night — but it’s never to early to prepare those scouting reports.