Aaron Decide must overcome his Royals struggles in ALDS

It’s been a very long time since Aaron Decide appeared like Aaron Decide within the postseason.

His final dominant playoff collection got here in 2018, when Decide had an OPS of 1.194 in a loss to the Purple Sox.

And Decide’s most up-to-date postseason collection ended with a 1-for-16 catastrophe within the 2022 ALCS defeat to Houston, which adopted his record-breaking residence run season.

Decide has the prospect to reassert his will within the playoffs once more beginning Saturday in The Bronx, when the Yankees open the ALDS versus Kansas Metropolis.

Although the Royals received simply 86 video games to get a wild-card spot and lack stars exterior of Bobby Witt Jr. and Sal Perez, they may current one other powerful problem to Decide after one other MVP caliber season.

It begins with their scheduled Sport 1 starter, right-hander Michael Wacha. The 33-year-old has dealt with Decide higher, arguably, than anybody else within the league.

Decide is simply 1-for-18 with three walks and 11 strikeouts in opposition to Wacha in his profession.

His .246 OPS when going through Wacha is Decide’s lowest in opposition to any pitcher he’s confronted greater than 16 occasions.

“I’ll nonetheless take my possibilities,’’ Aaron Boone stated on a Thursday Zoom name from the Stadium, when requested about Decide’s struggles versus Wacha. “Chalk it as much as a small pattern. I’ll take Aaron Decide in opposition to nearly anybody on any day.”

For a workforce that hasn’t scored greater than 5 runs in a playoff recreation since Sport 1 of the 2020 ALDS in opposition to the Rays — a span of 15 video games — the Yankees will want a lot from Decide.

The veteran Wacha has loads of postseason expertise and starred by way of a lot of the playoffs for the Cardinals in 2013 earlier than an unpleasant Sport 6 outing.

Since that begin, Wacha has appeared in 4 postseason video games and allowed 19 earned runs and 6 homers in simply 11 innings. Wacha hasn’t confronted the Yankees since Might 2023, when Decide went 1-for-4.

To make issues worse for Decide and Co., Seth Lugo, who figures to start out later within the collection — maybe Sport 3 — has held Decide hitless in eight at-bats with three strikeouts throughout his profession.

However the Yankees aren’t all that fascinated about all these numbers, not after watching Decide hit 58 residence runs and evolve into a good higher hitter than he was when he hit 62 homers in 2022.

Decide closed the season with homers in 5 straight video games earlier than he whiffed 5 occasions for the primary time this 12 months in his final recreation of the season on Sept. 28.

Hitting coach James Rowson stated Decide is in “an important spot” on the plate.

“Clearly, anyone [can have] powerful days on this recreation, however his season speaks for itself,’’ Rowson stated. “What he was in a position to do that 12 months, we haven’t seen — possibly — from a right-handed hitter within the historical past of the sport. I really like the place he’s at.”

Rowson added of Decide: “He’s been motivated from Day 1. He seems ahead to the postseason and anybody who is aware of Decide is aware of he stays targeted on the day, however he has a purpose in thoughts. The purpose is to win a World Collection. I believe that is gonna be a strong postseason for him, and I’m actually trying ahead to seeing what he can do.”

Brian Cashman referred to as Decide’s efficiency “superhuman” and is prepared for the slugger — and the remainder of the workforce — to cement his legacy.

“Let’s hope he and his crew, all of us, are gonna be in place to lastly add one other optimistic to his résumé, which is finally a world championship,’’ Cashman stated. “That’s one thing he and we’ve not achieved collectively but. Hopefully in 2024, we are able to lastly get again on prime of that. We’ll see.”