ALCS 4: Astros at Yankees, 8 PM (ET)

ALCS: Astros lead 2-1.

Dan Martin, Post:

Masahiro Tanaka has been mostly brilliant in the postseason since joining the Yankees.

They will need the right-hander to live up to his lofty standards again in Game 4 on Thursday in The Bronx if they are to have a realistic chance of coming back in this ALCS against the Astros. ...

"We're going to have to get some innings out of our starters, there's no question about it," [Aaron] Boone said Wednesday ... [B]etween [Masa] and [James] Paxton these next two days, they're going to need to give us some innings if we're going to be successful."

History says Tanaka will deliver. ...

With Paxton slated to start Game 5 and a potential bullpen game looming in Game 6, the pen will be counted on plenty.

It's up to Tanaka to put that off for one more day.

George A. King III, Post:

[T]his is what the Yankees' 2019 season comes down to: a must-win in a non-elimination situation.

That they have Masahiro Tanaka starting against Greinke has to inject a grown-up dose of confidence after Tanaka blanked the Astros and allowed one hit in Game 1 when he went six innings. In four postseason starts at Yankee Stadium, Tanaka is 3-1 with a 1.13 ERA. Overall he is 5-2 with a 1.32 ERA in seven postseason assignments. ...

Considering the amount of limp wood in the Yankees' lineup, Greinke might get away with the sins in Game 4 that he didn't in Game 1, when he allowed three runs and seven hits (two homers) in six innings.

Gary Sanchez has two hits in his past 21 at-bats and has struck out 10 times. Edwin Encarnacion is 1-for-18, Didi Gregorius 1-for-12, Brett Gardner 2-for-13 and Gio Urshela is 2-for-11. That is a combined 8-for-75 (.107).

The most disturbing member of the Dead Bat Society is Sanchez, but manager Aaron Boone ... praised the catcher for his defensive work while believing his bat will come alive. ... "I think that's right around the corner."

That corner has arrived and it's a hairpin deal labeled "Game 4" for not only Sanchez but everybody else in the Yankees' organization.

Kristie Ackert, Daily News:

Suddenly, the Yankees have to flip the entire script. Built around a power bullpen with the idea of working with an early lead behind their power bats, the Yankees are going into Game 4 ... having to lean heavily on their starting pitchers to get them out of a jam. ...

[T]he Yankees will now have Masahiro Tanaka — their most reliable postseason starter — set to go on regular rest ... James Paxton will get the Game 5 start.

The Yankees could have Luis Severino on regular rest for Game 6 on Saturday, but that leaves them with a bullpen game in a potential Game 7. ...

The Yankees starters posted the fifth fewest innings pitched, 778.1 in the regular season. The Astros starters pitched the fourth most in the majors with 907.1.

Tanaka is the only one of the Bombers' three starters who has pitched into the sixth inning this postseason. ...

Boone said he expects that he will be able to use relievers three, maybe four days in a row if needed.

"I think I definitely would do it. ... I would certainly be prepared to do that. ... I'm certainly open to them running out there every day."

Ken Davidoff, Post:

Maybe the 2004 Red Sox don't make history by overcoming an 0-3 American League Championship Series deficit against the Yankees without pushing their rivals' pitching staff for five straight days following a rainout of Game 3. ...

Whom does this unscheduled break help more? Let's lay out the prominent ripple effects and rank them by importance.

1. The Yankees benefit by getting to start their most trusted arm, Masahiro Tanaka, on normal rest for Game 4 ... Maybe Thursday marks Tanaka's first postseason start of eight in which he allows more than two runs. Do you want to bet against him, though? Didn't think so.

2. The Astros benefit because they rely far less on their relievers than do the Yankees, who now face the prospect of calling upon certain arms for four consecutive days. ...

3. The Yankees benefit by moving up the Game 6 pitching matchup to Game 5. Justin Verlander far outpitched James Paxton in Game 2 down South, and now that rematch will take place at the Stadium rather than Minute Maid. Paxton pitched better at home (3.35 ERA) than on the road (4.33) ... Verlander tallied a 2.82 ERA away and 2.34 at home ...

Wait. ... So, Ken, you're telling me - with a straight face - that Paxton's 3.35 ERA at home gives the Yankees the edge over Verlander's road ERA of 2.82? ... Dude. ... I don't even care about your other "effects".

George A. King III, Post:

According to a person familiar with the situation, the Yankees' coaches were upset with a whistle coming from the Houston dugout in Game 1 of the ALCS and believed it was part of a sign-stealing program the Astros have long been suspected of using at home.

The person confirmed an angry Yankees dugout let the Astros dugout know the team wasn't happy with the attempt to pilfer signs. ...

A person with an AL West team said the whistling is just one way the Astros convey swiped signs at Minute Maid Park. ...

The Yankees were so paranoid they had Gary Sanchez flash Masahiro Tanaka multiple signs in Game 1 with nobody on base after the Astros were suspected of stealing signs in a Game 5 win over the Rays at home in the ALDS.

Deesha Thosar, Daily News:

Aaron Boone went to bat for his catcher a day after Yankees fans booed Gary Sanchez off the field ...

Sanchez took a few practice hacks from the on-deck circle as Astros ace Gerrit Cole warmed up to begin the bottom of the sixth inning. The Yankees trailed Houston, 2-0, and the crowd was beginning to lose its patience with New York's underwhelming offense. And yet, with 12 outs remaining and the bottom of the Bombers' lineup due up, hope persisted.

But Sanchez struck out looking on six pitches to leadoff the sixth. An obvious sense of deflation shrouded the ballpark. That was Sanchez's sixth strikeout of the series, and 10th of the postseason. A barrage of boos followed Sanchez as he ambled, melancholic as ever, back into the Yankees dugout. ...

Boone emphatically rejected the idea of backup catcher Austin Romine earning a postseason start over Sanchez.

Dan Martin, Post:

Since his return from a strained groin, Sanchez closed out the regular season 1-for-6 with four strikeouts and is just 2-for-21 with three walks and 10 strikeouts in six playoff games. He's yet to drive in a run during the postseason and in his last two games against the Astros in the ALCS, he's hitless in nine at-bats with five strikeouts. ...

And he couldn't stop a Zack Britton wild pitch from getting by him with the bases loaded, leading to a run in the top of the seventh of his team's Game 3 loss Tuesday.

[Boone:] "[H]e's been excellent behind the plate from a game-calling standpoint, from a game-plan, target, receiving. ... I always feel like he's a pitch away or an at-bat away from really getting locked in ... I think that's right around the corner ..."

If Boone "always" feel Sanchez is a pitch away or an at-bat away, then what Boone actually believes is that Sanchez will never get right. He will, as Boone says, "always" be an at-bat away from busting out ... Which, with Gary Maniloaf, sounds about right.

Mike Vaccaro, Post:

A look at how playoff rainouts have affected the Yankees in subsequent playoff games since division play began in 1995: ...

Oct. 15, 2004, ALCS Game 3 vs. Red Sox at Fenway Park: There was no way of knowing it at the time, but this wound up as the most meaningful rainout in Yankees history. They were up 2-0 and went up 3-0 the next day, but the extra day off allowed Curt Schilling to heal up enough to pitch Game 6, and the lost travel day meant the Yankees had no viable option to start Game 7 as the Sox completed their historic comeback. ...