SNY's The Warm-up: Happ-less Yanks — Jets struggles — New Ranger Alexis Lafrenière

Get Today’s New York Sports Here Tweet of the Day --------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning. Good luck trying to explain Travis d'Arnaud to a future generation of Mets fans. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today's New York sports schedule... - ALDS Game 3: Yankees vs. Rays, 7:10 p.m. ⚾ - Inter Miami FC at Red Bulls, 7 p.m. ⚽ - D.C. United at NYCFC, 8 p.m. ⚽ Word count: 784 words (about seven minutes) --------------------------------------------------------------- SNY originals... Time Machine Tuesday - [When Phil Jackson returned to the Knicks]( Baseball Night in New York - [Should Kyle Higashioka be the Yankees' starting catcher?]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Game 2: The Yankees' J.A. Happ gamble doesn't pay off Orlando Ramirez/USA Today RAYS 7, YANKEES 5 -- After starter Deivi Garcia's one-run first inning to start last night's Game 2, Aaron Boone pulled him in favor of J.A. Happ. It didn't go well: - He pitched 2.2 innings and allowed four runs on two home runs, turning a 1-1 game into a 5-1 game. And Happ, who said he wanted to start instead of relieve, [wasn't happy]( with the move, though he said it didn't impact his outing: - "They know how I felt about (pitching in relief). Ultimately, when I pitch, you got me. There was no hesitation." Now, Masahiro Tanaka will get the ball for Game 3 today. Three more things from last night: - Giancarlo Stanton now has five hits in the playoffs. All are home runs. More on him below. - The Rays, pulling from the Yankees' playbook, hit four home runs, including a second-straight first-inning round-tripper for Randy Arozarena. - Gary Sanchez, who started instead of Kyle Higashioka, was 0-for-4 with three K's. Also: The Yankees had a chance to tie or take the lead in the ninth inning, when Aaron Judge grounded out with two on and two out to end the game. On SNY.tv: [Sources: Yanks planned to go to Happ early, but not necessarily in the second inning]( | [Giancarlo Stanton is proving to be a vital postseason slugger for the Yankees]( --------------------------------------------------------------- DAILY TRIVIA Six quarterbacks have 30 or more wins as a starter for the Jets. How many can you name? 2. Day two of the LDS, by the numbers MLB/Twitter 458 feet, 118.3 MPH Giancarlo Stanton hit two home runs last night, the second of which was the epic bomb above, which went 458 feet and had an exit velo of 118.3 MPH. 3 hits, 4 RBI Old acquaintance Travis d'Arnaud, whom the Mets waived in 2019 after a particularly bad game, went 3-for-3 yesterday for the Braves, with two walks and [a big-time three-run home run]( in the seventh inning. Oh, and he batted .321 with nine home runs in the regular season. How? ... is the appropriate question. 15 runs The Astros have scored 15 runs against the A's through two games. They've won all four of their playoff games and are now one victory from holding up their end in a possible ALCS rematch against the Yankees. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. QB and offensive line play are two lowlights of the Jets' 0-4 start Danielle Parhizkaran/USA Today There are many factors involved in the Jets' 0-4 start. - On defense, a unit without Jamal Adams is allowing 32.8 points per game, third-worst in the league. - On offense, a depleted skill position crew has resulted in only 65 points in four games. Specifically, the problems on offense can be traced to mediocre play in two of football's most important areas: Quarterbacking and blocking. After Week 3, PFF ranked the Jets' offensive line, despite a nice start by rookie Mekhi Becton, [as the 28th]( unit in the league. [According]( to Football Reference, the line has: - Allowed the seventh-most sacks (12). - Provided only 2.3 seconds on average for Sam Darnold in the pocket per drop back, 20th in the league. - Allowed 15 hits on Darnold, fifth-most in the league. - Allowed "pressure" on 25.3 percent of Darnold's drop backs, seventh-highest in the league. As for Darnold, his accuracy stats are either league average or below (also according to Football Reference): - 19.1 percent of his throws are considered "bad throws," seventh-highest behind only players like Mitch Trubisky and Dwayne Haskins. - 74.8 percent of his throws have been "on target," 23rd-lowest in the league. On SNY.tv: [The Jets are 0-4, but they are committed to turning things around]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Alexis Lafreniere is officially a New York Ranger SNY graphic The Rangers [drafted]( 18-year-old Canadian winger Alexis Lafreniere during last night's NHL Draft with the No. 1 overall pick. - “Obviously, the New York Rangers are a great organization, and, for me, I’m really honored to join them," Lafreniere said during his conference call. How did we get here? Yes, the Rangers had the No. 1 pick despite making the 24-team playoff bracket. This year's lottery was for eight teams -- the seven non-playoff teams and a surrogate spot for one of the eight teams knocked out in the qualifying round. The surrogate spot won the lottery, and the Rangers won the second lottery among the eight knocked-out playoff teams for that first spot. How good is Lafreniere? Good enough to be the consensus No. 1 pick. A few hockey experts weighed in on his talent and potential [here](. Elsewhere: - The Islanders didn't have a first-round pick stemming from their midseason trade for Jean-Gabriel Pageau. - The Devils had three first-round picks. [Here]( a roundup of their night. --------------------------------------------------------------- 5. The New York Minute - [READ]( Analyzing what went wrong for the Mets in center field in 2020 and how it can be fixed for 2021. - [READ]( Osi Umenyiora on the Giants: "I think I look at the Giants with a lot of fond memories, but then I’m like, what the hell happened?" - [READ]( Can Jeff Smith continue to help the Jets' passing game? - [READ]( Could Henrik Lundqvist join the Washington Capitals? --------------------------------------------------------------- Trivia answer: Joe Namath (60), Ken O'Brien (50), Richard Todd (42), Vinny Testaverde (35), Mark Sanchez (33), Chad Pennington (32). That's the buzzer, folks. Stay safe and enjoy your Wednesday. 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