Following 10 consecutive victories, James Paxton left his final regular-season start after tweaking his left glute. And although the Yankees cleared the Big Maple for Game 1 of the ALDS following medication and rest, Paxton’s first career playoff appearance was merely OK.
Paxton was able to work around his problem area (early-inning home runs) and toss 4.2 innings of three run ball on five hits while striking out eight and walking one.
However, after smacking a club record 306 home runs — one behind the Twins for the MLB record, the Yanks’ usual cast of characters propelled them to a steady performance of long balls, clutch hitting and some nifty glovework to take Game 1 of the best of five series.