Cleveland Indians: Three keys to victory against the New York Yankees

Limit the walks

If there’s anything that could come of the series between the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees it could be four pitching duels. The two teams are both in the bottom four in the league for hits this season and if the Tribe want to increase their odds of winning, then they will need to control the base paths.

So far this season, the Yankees have just 113 hits, only 14 more than the New York Mets who are last in the stat. However, where the Yankees could make headway against the Tribe pitching is by drawing walks. Through their first 17 games, New York has drawn 68 walks which is seventh in Major League Baseball.

The good news is that the Cleveland pitching staff is tied for the sixth lowest walk mark with only 51. The bad news is that the two pitchers on the roster who have the most walks are both scheduled to pitch during the series.

Triston McKenzie is currently set to toss the fourth game of the series and has walked 10 batters through his first three appearances, which is tied for the 18th highest mark in the league. However, of the 17 pitchers ahead of him 12 have pitched a whole extra game. McKenzie has only pitched in three so far this season while those 12 all have four games under their belts.

While the Tribe as a team have done a solid job limiting the walks, they will have to continue doing so in this series. If they can do that, it will go a long way in keeping these games low-scoring and giving Cleveland their best odds to win.