The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays, which have formed kind of a modern rivalry over the last few years, are set to face each other in the American League Division Series in San Diego, starting on Monday.
Given the new playoffs format in this shortened 2020 season, the division series will be played in a best-of-five matchup, with no off days. That means two things: the Yankees probably won’t use ace Gerrit Cole in two games unless they want to send him on short rest for a hypothetical Game 5; and that the managers need to be creative and efficient with their use of the bullpen.