Livescore
Who is the closer? Who’s in the rotation? Who is off the roster?
The Yankees might not be explaining their postseason pitching plans verbally, but their actions — combined here with a bit of reporting — are revealing their plans. Most of the answers are right there on the field.
In the top of the ninth inning on Thursday, tied 1-1 with Boston, manager Aaron Boone had to decide between calling for Tommy Kahnle or erstwhile closer Clay Holmes.
This was a closer situation, and Boone was ready to use Holmes — which proved that he meant it when he said Holmes had not lost his job entirely. But he also realized that his old friend and counterpart in the visitors dugout, Red Sox manager Alex Cora, had left-handed pinch hitters to burn.
Boone figured that if he brought Holmes into the game, Cora would use several of them in the ninth, creating better matchups for Kahnle than for Holmes. Kahnle, a right-hander, is effective against lefties because of his changeup. Holmes’ sinker is most effective when he throws it in to righties.
Boone called for Kahnle. Cora chose to bat lefty Masataka Yoshida anyway, determining that despite Kahnle’s reverse splits, he was a better option than righty Romy Gonzalez. Yoshida grounded out.
When the game moved to the 10th, Boone left Kahnle in to face lefty Wilyer Abreu. Kahnle retired Abreu, then gave way to Holmes, who induced a groundout and flyout from Ceddane Rafaela and Jarren Duran. Both combined to lock down the late innings and pave the way for Juan Soto’s walk off hit in the bottom of the 10th.
So, who is the Yankees closer headed into the playoffs? The answer was right there in the game: Holmes when there is a righty lane, and Kahnle or Luke Weaver (another changeup specialist), Wednesday’s bullpen hero, when there are more lefties in that part of the lineup or lurking on the bench.
The Yankees are similarly making their thinking about the rotation and roster abundantly clear. Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt are still starting, because the team is weighing which of the two to put in a division series rotation. But Boone says publicly that bullpen experience will be part of the playoff equation and Schmidt has it.
Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman have both been taken out of the rotation for a turn this month. It’s hard to imagine how either of those pitchers gets a start in the first round (this is assuming the Yankees hold on to their division lead over the underwhelming Orioles), or both of them making a division series roster.
Now recall Boone’s comment about prior bullpen experience. Cortes has pitched in relief 49 times in his career, Stroman eight.
If the Yankees advance to the ALCS — way ahead of what they need to plan for in September — they could add Cortes or Stroman as a fourth starter.
As far as early October plans? Just watch. It’s almost all there.
Read the full article here
