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Paul Bereswill/Getty ImagesDespite somesecond-half struggles http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-ozzie-smith-jersey , the New York Yankees are headed back to the postseason following a 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles in 11 innings Saturday.The Yankees celebrated the playoff berth on Twitter:New York Yankees YankeesThe New York Yankees are Postseason bound. pG0lWDNgaVNew York's clinching win came in dramatic fashion, as outfielder Aaron Hicks scored shortstop Didi Gregorius on a walk-off RBI double.While the Boston Red Sox beat the Yanks 11-6 on Thursday to clinch the AL East crown, Saturday's win guarantees that New York will play in the American League Wild Card Game.It has yet to be determined who the Yankees will face in that game and where it will take place, but they currently own a two-game lead over the Oakland Athletics, who lead the Tampa Bay Rays by seven games for the second wild-card spot.The Bronx Bombers started the season scalding hot and entered the All-Star break a sterling 62-33 thanks to a power-packed lineup headlined by 2017 American League Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge and 2017 National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton.During that stretch, the Yankees ranked third among all MLB teams in runs scored (493), first in home runs (161) and tops in slugging percentage (.463) as youngsters Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres made leaps ahead of schedule.However, New York's torrent pace didn't last forever.The Yankees closed out July an unremarkable 15-10, and they finished just four games above .500 (17-13) in August as the Red Sox ran away with the American League East. Not surprisingly, the regression coincided with Judge's trip to the disabled list because of achip fracture in his right wrist.Plus, the Yankees' starting rotation hasn't been able to pull its weight with a cumulative ERA of4.05that ranks15thamong all Major League clubs.Most notably, that figure has been hurt by Luis Severino's backslide over the past few months.Although Severino earned his second straight All-Star nod by posting a 2.31 ERA and 14-2 record before the Midsummer Classic, he has largely been a liability since.Over11second-half starts Albert Pujols Jersey , the24-year-old is 4-6with a5.74ERA.Once considered the Yankees' most reliable and overpowering ace, Severino now looks like a dicey starting option in a do-or-die wild card setting.The same can't be said of Masahiro Tanaka, who has been one of the Yankees' few bright spots entering the home stretch with a2.62ERA across11second-half starts.Don't be surprised if Tanaka takes the hill when October rolls around as the Yankees hope to extend their playoff lives and make a second straight trip to the ALDS.While New York still needs to lock in the No. 1 wild-card spot to ensure a home game in the wild-card round, it can now start looking ahead with the intention of setting up its rotation and resting its bullpen in anticipation of the win-or-go-home contest. NEW YORK (AP) — The big league batting average dropped to its lowest level since 1972, strikeouts topped hits for the first time and defensive shifts increased by another 30 percent while innings and pitches per starting pitcher dropped again in a another baseball season of rapid change.The batting average fell seven points to .248 in the regular season that ended Monday, down from a Steroids Era peak of .271 in 1999.Strikeouts set a record for the 11th straight year, increasing by 1,103 to 41,207, and topped hits (41,019) for the first time in big league history. Hits led by 2,111 last year and by 13,418 in 2006.Home runs dropped from a record 6 http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-stan-musial-jersey ,105 to 5,585 but was the fourth-highest total behind last year, 2000 and 2016.In a game transformed by teams’ use of advanced analytics, defensive shifts on balls in play rose to 34,673 from 26,705, according to Sports Info Solutions. There were just 6,882 as recently as 2013 and 17,826 in 2015.Twenty-six of the 30 teams increased use of shifts, with Detroit, Kansas City, the New York Mets, Philadelphia and St. Louis doubling. Only the Los Angeles Angels Roger Maris Jersey , Milwaukee, Texas and San Diego declined, but the Brewers had the fifth highest overall total.Innings per starting pitcher dropped to 5.36 from 5.51 last year and 5.89 in 2012, and average pitches per start fell to 88 from 92 in 2017 and 95 in 2012. Relievers per team per game rose to 3.4 from 3.2 last year and 3.0 in 2012.As a result, complete games set a record low for the fourth straight year at 42, down from 59 last season and 104 in 2015. Complete game shutouts dropped from 27 to 19, the fewest since 1874, when there were just eight teams. There were 65 shutouts as recently as 2014.There were 95 starts of one inning or fewer, more than double the 38 in 2017, and 244 of two innings or fewer, up from 133. Use of an “opener” reliever instead of a starter by Tampa Bay in many games was a factor, and some other teams started to copy the innovation.Sacrifice bunts dropped from 925 to 823, the fewest since a record-low 806 in 1900 http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-matt-carpenter-jersey , the last season with eight teams. Toronto had a record-low five, while Oakland and the Los Angeles Angels had six apiece and Boston seven. There were 1,667 as recently as 2011 and no club dropped below double digits until Texas had nine in 2005. No team had fewer than 50 in 1972.Nine-inning games averaged 3:00:44, down from 3:05:11 for last season, helped by new restrictions that cut mound visits without pitching changes to an average of 4.01 from 7.41.There were 1,400 video reviews, an increase of four, and overturned calls rose by six, from 47.3 percent to 47.6 percent, and the average time of reviews dropped five seconds to 1:23.Disabled list placements rose from 702 to 737. There were 563 in 2016, the last season before the primary disabled list switched from 15 days to 10.