Yankees Host Blue Jays in AL East Showdown

The showdown between the two top teams in the American League East was delayed by a day when Thursday’s Toronto Blue Jays versus the New York Yankees opener of a four-game series was postponed in the Big Apple due to rain.

Carlos Beltran the veteran for the New York Yankees is used to playing in stressful situations. He and his Yankees teammates will be feeling the pressure as they host the AL East leading Toronto Blue Jays this weekend.

The games, four in three days, will feel like playoff games says Beltran. He noted that the concentration level of players will be higher and the two teams will do whatever it takes to come out on top.

Toronto leads New York by 1 ½ games heading into the series. These four games are the first of the seven the two teams have remaining head to head amongst the final 23 games on the schedule.

David Price was scheduled to pitch on Thursday  for Toronto and will go, in an early start on Friday, with a double header scheduled for Saturday and the fourth and final game on Sunday.

The Yankees will start Luis Severino a rookie on Friday.

The Yankees have been candid as the series approached saying the games against the Blue Jays would be slightly different from other regular season games.

The two teams know what is at stake, as do the fans. The Yankees will have the advantage of their fans during the weekend, but must play better than the red-hot Blue Jays if they hope to make up the deficit and take the AL East title.

The Yankees have Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury and Alex Rodriguez who are used to playing in big games, but many of the players are new to a pennant race.

Chase Headley could have left New York during the offseason but opted to re-sign with the Yankees so he could play meaningful games late in the season that could mean reaching the postseason.

These four games will be very intense from start to finish with a playoff atmosphere hanging over Yankee Stadium. Managers will be quicker to pull a struggling pitcher than in other situations and will not want to let a game get out of hand early.

With Toronto currently in the driver’s seat, the pressure is on New York to win at home.

Toronto hopes to get a solid start to the series with David Price their ace southpaw who has had his problems with the Yankees in the past.

This series is why baseball in September is so exciting.