Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez laid out a playoff rotation for the New York Yankees on Tuesday as the club locked in the American League’s top Wild Card seed and prepared to open October without Aaron Judge.
The Yankees split a day-night doubleheader with Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium, winning the first game 2-0 and losing the nightcap 6-1. The Rays’ second victory clinched the AL East at 96-61. New York finished the night 90-67, six games back.
Boston sat at 84-73 and already had secured a wild-card berth. The Yankees will host the Red Sox in a best-of-three series beginning Sept. 29. The regular season ends Sunday against Baltimore.
Manager Aaron Boone said before the doubleheader that he does not expect Judge for the wild-card round. The 34-year-old right fielder has a moderate strain of the soleus muscle in his right calf.
Judge received a platelet-poor plasma injection Monday and will limit activity for several days. He was placed on the 10-day injured list after leaving a Sept. 16 game in Minnesota.
“We’re planning on him not being a part of that,” Boone said.
Judge is hitting .241 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs in 66 games. He missed more than three months with a rib fracture, returned Sept. 8 without a rehab assignment and went 4-for-23 with 13 strikeouts before the calf injury.
New York’s offense has scored 715 runs, ninth in the majors, and hit 217 home runs, second in the league. The staff has been the club’s strongest asset, ranking first in ERA at 3.22.
Cam Schlittler has fronted that group. The 25-year-old right-hander is 14-6 with a 1.94 ERA, 234 strikeouts and a 0.91 WHIP in 190 2/3 innings over 32 starts. He was an All-Star this season and has allowed three earned runs over his last 27 innings.
Carlos Rodón threw eight scoreless innings in Tuesday’s opener, allowing three hits and no walks with eight strikeouts. The start produced his 100th career win and 1,500th strikeout. The left-hander is 7-3 after missing time with elbow inflammation.
Gerrit Cole is 9-9 with a 3.63 ERA in 121 1/3 innings across 21 starts after missing all of 2025 following Tommy John surgery. Max Fried dropped to 5-5 in the nightcap and has a mid-2.00s ERA in 19 starts. Will Warren is 10-6 with a 4.02 ERA in 152 1/3 innings.
Martinez, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and TBS analyst, posted his preferred order Tuesday on X.
“For the Yankees’ pitching rotation, I’d go with Schlittler first, Rodon second, and Cole third,” Martinez posted.
A best-of-three format leaves little room for a five-man rotation. Extra off days, if the series stretches, also favor using the strongest arms as often as possible.
Boone still must decide whether to use three starters or four. A four-man plan could keep both Rodón and Fried in the rotation and shift Warren, or one of the left-handers, to the bullpen.
Schlittler is the clear Game 1 choice on form and workload. Rodón’s recent stretch, capped by Tuesday’s eight innings, makes him the leading option for Game 2. Cole’s postseason experience remains the main argument for Game 3.
Wild Card games are scheduled to start Sept. 29. Division Series play is set to begin Oct. 3 if New York advances.
