Keith: Not a good sign for playoffs when Yankees get blanked by opponent's ace

Seth Lugo was masterful against the Yankees on Tuesday night, as the American League Cy Young candidate twirled seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits and striking out 10 against zero walks, dropping his season ERA to 2.94.

The Yanks trotted out a lineup that many thought was a preview of their postseason starting nine, but they were not able to generate much of anything against Lugo, the ace of the Royals staff.

The offensive performance left Keith McPherson worried about how the Yankee bats will fare when they consistently face teams’ top starters in October.

“For Seth Lugo to come back to New York and dominate, it doesn’t make you feel warm and fuzzy inside,” Keith said. “We don’t want any smoke with him. If we were to end up in a series against him and the Royals, if this was a little preview, that’s not great.”

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are currently mired in late-season slumps, and the Yankee bats did fare a bit better against Lugo last time they faced him in early June, managing eight hits and four runs over seven innings. But with October fast approaching, Keith needs to see more from the Yanks when they go up against quality arms that they could be facing less than a month from now.

“It scares you, because we’re getting close to October where you’re gonna be facing aces,” Keith said. “You’re gonna be facing the best of the best. That’s like a postseason game.”