Good morning, New York. The Yankees face elimination tonight in the Bronx, Alexis Lafrenière’s hat trick sent the Islanders packing at the Garden, and the Mets are making big changes to their coaching staff.
The Yankees are one loss from the end of their season, and the Rays are one win from their first ALCS trip since 2020. Tampa Bay, which clinched the AL East at Yankee Stadium two weeks ago, takes a 2-0 series lead into tonight’s Game 3.
Father figure: Max Fried (5-5, 2.80 ERA) starts tonight with a baby due any day, and he says the timing won’t change that. “If we don’t win, we go home,” he said of Game 3’s stakes. He allowed one run over six innings against Boston in the Wild Card round.
Martinez’s first: Nick Martinez, 36, makes his first career postseason start in his ninth playoff appearance after going 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA this season.
Bats needed: New York has scored two runs in the series, both on Ben Rice solo homers, and committed four errors in Game 2. Aaron Boone said the Yankees have to come out clean in the first inning tonight.
Garden Party
Alexis Lafrenière had a hat trick and an assist as the Rangers beat the Islanders, 5-2, at Madison Square Garden for their fourth straight win. The Rangers (4-1-0) are 3-0-0 at home for the first time since 2009-10, and the Islanders (1-2-0) erased a 2-0 deficit with two goals in 1:56 early in the second period before Oliver Bjorkstrand’s second goal of the night put the Rangers back in front late in the frame.
Bjorkstrand’s breakout: Bjorkstrand scored his first two goals as a Ranger, including the game-winner on the power play.
Varlamov returns: Semyon Varlamov made 19 saves in his first NHL game in 676 days, while Igor Shesterkin stopped 17 of 19.
Kids’ table: For the first time in the rivalry’s history, both teams dressed a teenage defenseman. Rangers defenseman Alberts Smits (18) is the youngest in the league, and the Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer (19) is the second youngest.
Staff Meeting
The Mets went 74-88 this season and finished dead-last in the NL East for the first time since 2003. Now they are making some significant changes. Director of hitting Jeff Albert, quality assurance coach Danny Barnes, and batting practice pitcher Kevin Mahoney will not return to the big league staff in 2027, though all three may remain in the organization and are free to speak with other clubs. The rest of the staff is (so far) expected to return.
Bat to the drawing board: Albert lasted one year in his role after being promoted under Carlos Mendoza. The Mets plan to interview multiple hitting instructors, and a new hire could either take over Albert’s role or slot in under hitting coach Troy Snitker.
Green’s team: Andy Green went 40-41 after taking over for Mendoza in June and signed a three-year extension in September.
Liberty Lookahead
The New York Liberty have been the WNBA playoffs’ biggest surprise. After finishing 26-18 and slipping to the No. 8 seed by dropping their final two regular season games to the Atlanta Dream, New York swept top-seeded Minnesota in the first round, the first time a No. 1 seed has ever fallen to a No. 8 seed. The series was a rematch of the 2024 Finals, which the Liberty won for the franchise’s first title, and it spared them a second straight first-round exit. The Liberty now face Atlanta in the semifinals.
Stew’s brewing: Breanna Stewart had 34 points and 12 rebounds in a 91-75 Game 1 win in the first round in Minneapolis. She added 21 in an 87-71 Game 2 win at Barclays Center, joined by Jonquel Jones (21 points, 13 rebounds) and Sabrina Ionescu (18 points, seven assists).
Semifinal slip: The Liberty led the Dream at halftime of Game 1 of the semis, but Atlanta outscored them 32-15 in the third quarter on the way to a 92-82 win. The Dream scored 32 points off 21 turnovers, tying a WNBA playoff record.
On This Day
On Oct. 7, 2000, Benny Agbayani's glorious 13th-inning homer gave the Mets a 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants in NLDS Game 3, ending what was then the longest division series game ever played, at 5 hours and 22 minutes.
What to Watch
Rays at Yankees, ALDS Game 3, Tonight, 8 p.m. ET (TBS): It could be all over for the Yankees tonight here in the Bronx…or, we could see the start of a three-game comeback like those the Bombers pulled off in 2001 and 2017.
Liberty at Dream, WNBA semifinals Game 2, Tonight, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN): New York looks to even the best-of-five series before it comes home to Brooklyn.