Bryan Hoch

ST. PETERSBURG -- Spencer Jones was staring into the future; at least, that’s what it looked like one afternoon in late July. The Yankees rookie outfielder sat in front of his locker, one foot raised, contemplating how he might remember this season five years down the road.

ST. PETERSBURG – The Yankees have spent months touting their starting rotation as an October advantage. One loss hasn’t changed that – if anything, it sets up the first real test of a formula they still believe can carry them deep into this postseason. Saturday’s opener of the American League

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Yankees and Rays have shared the field for plenty of memorable moments, tightly contested games and deeply rooted disagreements over the years. They are natural rivals in the American League East, pitting New York’s history and high-payroll dominance against Tampa Bay’s ingenuity and lower-budget success. They’ve

ST. PETERSBURG -- For most of last summer, Gerrit Cole wasn’t allowed to pick up a baseball. Many nights, he’d lie awake and stare at the ceiling, pitching anyway -- picturing showdowns against whatever team the Yankees happened to be facing that week. He didn’t give up many hits.

NEW YORK -- It was the middle of July, and Cody Bellinger was seated in a windowless press conference room deep inside Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, having been announced as the MVP of the All-Star Game. Still dressed in his road gray Yankees uniform, Bellinger fielded questions from dozens of

NEW YORK – One year later, they’re right back at it. The Yankees are preparing to host the Red Sox for another American League Wild Card Series, renewing baseball’s most enduring rivalry in a best-of-three showdown.

NEW YORK – Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice spent their early years surrounded by everything Red Sox, only to land on the other side of baseball’s most storied rivalry. Back under the postseason spotlight, the Massachusetts duo delivered, fracturing a few more New England hearts in the process. Schlittler struck

NEW YORK – Cam Schlittler sent the Red Sox home with a magnificent performance last October, revealing he’d used online fan vitriol as fuel in striking out a dozen over eight scoreless innings. The right-hander took each of those barbs personally, this year remarking, “I think they learned their lesson.”

NEW YORK – When the Yankees promoted George Lombard Jr. to the big leagues in August, talent evaluators pointed to the rookie’s background as a soccer standout, noting that he seemed to move in ways others simply don’t. They didn’t know how right they were.

NEW YORK – When the Yankees promoted George Lombard Jr. to the big leagues in August, talent evaluators pointed to the rookie’s background as a soccer standout, noting that he seemed to move in ways others simply don’t. They didn’t know how right they were.