There's a reason the pitching is the whole story. Drew Rasmussen went 8 innings with 10 strikeouts, Bryan Baker got the last 3 outs, and Jonathan Aranda's 3rd-inning homer off Gerrit Cole was the only run. That means Tampa Bay used exactly 2 pitchers on Saturday. With the off-day built in, Cash has his entire bullpen available behind Peralta. If the Yankees get Peralta's pitch count up early, they still have to go through relievers who are completely rested.
The Yankees' pitching depth isn't what it was a month ago. Clarke Schmidt has been shut down for the year with a biceps issue, and Fernando Cruz and Kervin Castro are both on the 60-day IL with elbow problems. That puts more pressure on Schlittler to go deep. Tampa Bay is thin too: Shane McClanahan is off the ALDS roster with a forearm issue, and Griffin Jax is still day-to-day with a lower-back contusion.
If there's something to pick at with Peralta, it's the walks. He issued 9 in 34 innings during his September run and 3 more in his last regular-season start against Philadelphia. A Yankees lineup that can't string hits together needs to be patient and take free baserunners. One walk ahead of one swing is how a team that got 1 hit on Saturday scores runs.
This is the game the Yankees can least afford to lose. Their Cy Young candidate is on the mound, and losing it means heading home down 2-0 with a lineup that hasn't shown it can score without Judge. Tampa Bay has the better season record, has home field, and has a starter who has looked completely different since the trade. New York needs Schlittler at his best and needs a lineup that suddenly has to scratch for runs to come up with something.