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Discipline Not Distance Is the Yankees’ Edge in ALDS

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kristie Ackert | Last updated Oct 4, 2025 2:43 PM ET

Highlights

The Yankees have won their last four games when they didn’t homer, five of their last six, six of their last eight; they owned a .405 win percentage in homerless games vs a .318 MLB average.
New York led MLB in walks (639) and ranked second in pitches per plate appearance (3.96).
Pitching is arriving hot: 2.00 ERA in the Wild Card Series; 1.77 ERA over the last 13 games.

Yes, the New York Yankees led the league in home runs again this season. The Bronx Bombers have shown lately that they are more versatile than that. Their recent wins when the ball stayed in the yard aren’t a fluke. They’ve won their last four games when they did not hit a home run (five of their last six and six of their last eight). Their .405 winning percentage in homerless games outpaced the MLB average by a wide margin.

That’s good news as the Yankees take on the Toronto Blue Jays in the best-of-five American League Division Series.

The math behind manufacturing runs

Let’s not kid ourselves. This lineup is built to bang balls out of the ballpark.

But, it’s also built to grind and score when teams aren’t giving the big boys – Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton – aren’t getting anything to hit.

New York finished first in walks (639) and second in pitches per plate appearance (3.96), which pushes starters into the zone and elevates pitch counts. That approach creates traffic, turns at-bats into mini-marathons, and sets up sac flies and extra bases when the ball doesn’t leave the yard.

They also carried a .354 OBP with runners in scoring position. That’s another sign they can score when they need to.

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge follows through on a solo home run against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. © Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Run prevention that makes it work

Winning without a blast also requires stingy pitching.

The Yankees staff delivered a 2.00 ERA in the Wild Card round and a 1.77 ERA across the last 13 games. Starters have set the tone for two months now, allowing two earned runs or fewer in 28 of the last 36 starts while posting a 2.62 ERA in that stretch.

The Game 1 script vs Kevin Gausman

It’s the first postseason meeting between the Yankees and Blue Jays, and it starts with Luis Gil against Kevin Gausman.

The approach against Gausman is straightforward. They need to shrink the splitter’s chase window early, run up his pitch count with patient at-bats, and force Toronto to the bullpen. The lineup has the patience profile to do it, and the Yankees stars have experience against Gausman to punish mistakes when he elevates the heater.

Three things to watch if the Yankees aren’t hitting homers

Early count leverage and long plate appearances to pull the Jays’ bullpen clock forward.
Traffic with runners in scoring position. Look for line drives and sac flies to do damage.
Run prevention. They need another low-number night from the staff to turn one rally into the difference.

Bottom line

The power is the Yankees brand. Still, the last few years have shown they needed a more versatile offense. So, this year, the Yankees’ edge is their ability to grind. With elite patience metrics, a staff that is heating up at the right time, and a clean plan for Gausman, the Yankees don’t need a home run to take Game 1.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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