MLB

Yankees manager Aaron Boone will not make any changes with New York facing Blue Jays rookie sensation Trey Yesavage following a lopsided series-opening defeat earlier this weekend. Here’s the full lineup: Trent Grisham (CF), Judge (RF), Cody Bellinger (LF), Ben Rice (1B), Giancarlo Stanton (DH), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (3B), Ryan McMahon (3B), Anthony Volpe (SS) and Austin Wells (C).

Hunter has spent the last two seasons as a special assistant in Los Angeles’ front office working with general manager Perry Minasian, who is entering the final season of his contract. The 50-year-old former big leaguer played 19 seasons in the majors, including a half-decade run with the Angels from 2008-2012, and was a five-time All-Star selection. His connections to the organization, and reported close relationship with Halos owner Arte Moreno, make him a serious candidate for the position following skipper Ron Washington’s dismissal after two seasons. The other big name that has surfaced is Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, who is considered the leading candidate at the moment.

Montgomery is continuing to recovery from a small fracture in his right foot that he suffered when he was hit by a pitch in early September while playing for Double-A Birmingham. The 22-year-old top prospect came over from the Red Sox in last offseason’s Garrett Crochet blockbuster and finished his professional debut batting .270/.360/.444 with 12 homers and 14 steals over 121 games across three levels in Chicago’s system. He’s a top-10 range outfield prospect and a surefire top 50 overall prospect for dynasty purposes heading into next season.

Thomson added that Bader felt better after receiving treatment and there should be additional clarity on his status heading into Monday’s pivotal Game 2 showdown. It’s an encouraging update after the 31-year-old outfielder left Saturday’s Game 1 contest with a groin tightness. There’s a chance he’s at least available off the bench for the rest of the best-of-five series, which is important with lefty Blake Snell on the mound for Game 2.

Schneider gets an opportunity near the top of Toronto’s lineup with lefty Max Fried on the mound for New York. The versatile 26-year-old was left on the bench for Game 1 in favor of veteran Anthony Santander, who is out of the lineup entirely to open this one, with righty Luis Gil toeing the rubber. He figures to continue splitting time with Santander for the remainder of the postseason. Addison Barger and Nathan Lukes are also on the bench to open this one. Here’s the full lineup: George Springer (DH), Schneider (LF), Guerrero Jr. (1B), Alejandro Kirk (C), Daulton Varsho (CF), Ernie Clement (3B), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2B), Andrés Giménez (SS) and Myles Straw (RF).

Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets the ball for Game 3 of the best-of-five series on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. It’s unclear at the moment whether Tyler Glasnow will take the ball for Game 4, if necessary, once the series shifts to Los Angeles after throwing 34 pitches in relief during Game 1. The Dodgers figure to have Clayton Kershaw available to follow Snell in relief on Monday evening after Shohei Ohtani fired six innings to help propel the club to a Game 1 victory.

Castillo draws the starting assignment for Sunday’s critical Game 2 showdown against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal after Seattle dropped the series opener at T-Mobile Park. The 32-year-old veteran closed out the regular season on a high note with a stellar 2.45 ERA over five September starts, including a 10-strikeout gem against the Rockies to end the year.

Chicago’s decision to start lefty Matthew Boyd on short rest blew up in monumental fashion, leading to a blowout loss in Game 1 of the best-of-five series. Imanaga figures to play a considerable role in the Cubs’ pitching plan for Monday’s showdown, even if they elect to go with an opener. There should be an official announcement from Cubs manager Craig Counsell at some point before the weekend wraps up.

The Tigers’ struggles with runners in scoring position have been well documented — and were at play for most of the night in Game 1 on Saturday — but McKinstry came through with an RBI single up the middle off of Carlos Vargas to scratch out the go-ahead run that proved to be the difference. McKinstry finished the night 1-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts, but he delivered the biggest hit of the Tigers season thus far.

Carpenter victimized Mariners’ right-hander George Kirby for a 409-foot (112.5 mph EV) two-run shot with two outs in the fifth inning that gave the Tigers a 2-1 advantage. It’s the fifth career hit for Carpenter off of Kirby — all of them being home runs. The Tigers will now have an opportunity to take a commanding 2-0 series lead on Sunday with ace left-hander Tarik Skubal on the mound.