OAKLAND Mike Foltynewicz Jersey , Calif. — Two guys thrust into the middle of a playoff race will go head-to-head in a high-stakes matchup when the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics continue a three-game series on Tuesday night.The A’s (83-56) tightened up the American League wild-card race with a 6-3 win in the series opener on Monday, moving within 3 1/2 games of the Yankees (86-52) for the right to host the single-elimination contest.Yankees left-hander J.A. Happ (15-6, 4.00 ERA), acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, will get the ball in Tuesday’s rematch, with the A’s calling upon right-hander Liam Hendriks (0-1, 7.82) in what figures to be a parade of relievers from Oakland’s deep bullpen.Article continues below ...That’s no mismatch, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after watching his club lose for the fifth time in their last eight games Monday.“They have some dynamic guys down there that make it tough,” Boone said of the Oakland bullpen, which has allowed a 3.29 ERA and .226 opponents’ batting average this season. “It’s that time of year. If you want to be great, it’s hard. We have to keep grinding away here and do a better job of rallying back.”Hendriks will be starting his second game in four days. The first did not go well.He allowed two hits and a walk to the first eight Seattle Mariners he faced, leaving a scoreless game with two on and two outs in the second inning.A’s manager Bob Melvin chose that point to switch to a left-hander, and the move backfired when left-handed-hitting Ben Gamel smacked a two-run double off Danny Coulombe, giving Seattle a lead it never relinquished.Suffice it to say, the Yankees will not be seeing Coulombe. He was designated for assignment Monday so that the A’s could add yet another arm, right-hander Aaron Brooks, to their reliever corps.Tuesday’s start will be just Hendriks” second since 2014 http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-markakis-jersey , and his first against the Yankees since 2012, when as the starter for the Minnesota Twins he allowed a two-run home run to Nick Swisher in the first inning of a 6-3 loss.Hendriks, who has spent most of this season at Triple-A Nashville, has faced the Yankees a total of eight times, seven times in relief, with a 2-2 record and 6.75 ERA.He will be complemented not only by a seemingly endless supply of quality arms in the Oakland bullpen, but by a team that left the stadium Monday feeling good about itself.Asked if the three-run win had sent a message to the Yankees, A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy said, “Not only send a message to them, but send a message to the league that we’re coming after it and we want it.”The road to a second consecutive win over the team with the second-best record in the majors will have to go through Happ, one of the majors’ nine 15-game winners.The 35-year-old hasn’t seen the A’s this season, but he has had success against them in the past, going 4-1 with a 3.69 ERA in 10 meetings, including eight starts.The A’s knocked out Happ, pitching then for Toronto, in the sixth inning of their most recent head-to-head last June, although it was Ryon Healy Brandon McCarthy Jersey , now a member of the Mariners, who did all the damage, driving in five runs with two homers in a 5-3 win. The most impressive performances from the 2018 World Series came from the unlikeliest of players.The Boston Red Sox benefited from standout showings by a journeyman first baseman and a pitcher with a history of postseason struggles.As for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who fell short in the World Series for the second consecutive season, they received some impressive performances of their own, but they just weren't enough to overpower the machine that was the Red Sox.Thanks to the collection of brilliant outings over five games, the Red Sox are headed home to celebrate their fourth World Series crown in 15 years, while the Dodgers are left to figure out what it needs to do to win its first world championship since 1988. Most Impressive World Series PerformancesSteve PearceSteve Pearce's second-ever postseason participation will live on in baseball lore forever.The World Series Most Valuable Player bashed a pair of home runs in Game 5 to secure his spot in MLB history and send the Red Sox back home with a trophy.Pearce recorded the best batting average of any Boston player with more than 10 at-bats, and he led the club in home runs and RBI in five World Series games.Sean M. Haffey/Getty ImagesMost of Pearce's damage was done in the final two games of the series, as he drove in seven runs鈥攆our in Game 4 and three in Game 5.Prior to the 2018 postseason, Pearce had one RBI in seven playoff contests from Baltimore's run to the American League Championship Series in 2014.Before Game 4, the 35-year-old was an afterthought when discussing the Boston lineup, as he failed to record a hit in four straight games.But the MVP showed up in the most critical moments, with an eighth-inning home run in Games 4 and 5 as well as a first-inning blast that set the tone for the series-clinching victory. David PriceThe other Boston player deserving of MVP honors was David Price, who got rid of his postseason demons with a pair of terrific performances in Games 2 and 5.Price, who earned his first postseason victory as a starter in Game 5 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros, twirled a pair of gems on the mound http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-markakis-jersey , as he gave up three earned runs over 13 innings.David J. Phillip/Associated PressIn the process, Price eliminated any concerns about his postseason production that lingered from his awful showing in Game 2 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees.Price's Game 5 performance was his most important, as he allowed the tired Boston bullpen to rest as he kept the Dodgers lineup off balance.The left-handed hurler wasn't overpowering like some of the other pitchers in the World Series, as he recorded five strikeouts in each start, but he was on point and didn't make many mistakes.Because of his turnaround in the ALCS and World Series, Price forever reversed the narrative around his postseason capabilities, and he'll go down as one of the most important figures of Boston's championship run. Justin TurnerBright spots were hard to come by for the Dodgers, but they did have a few players who stepped up to give them a fighting chance in each game.Third baseman Justin Turner hit .333 in the World Series and recorded the most hits of any Dodgers player with eight.Sean M. Haffey/Getty ImagesTurner's production came in bunches, as he had three games in which he produced two or more hits, including three base knocks each in Games 1 and 4.Unfortunately for Turner, the batters behind him in the Los Angeles order were unable to deliver the same results at the plate.Turner crossed the plate twice in the World Series because of the inefficiency of players like Manny Machado, who hit .182 in what could have been his final appearances in a Dodgers uniform. Follow Joe on Twitter, JTansey90.
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