Aaron Boone and the Yankees have named their starters for the first three games of the ALDS against the Minnesota Twins; James Paxton to start Game One, Masahiro Tanaka starts Game Two, and Luis Severino starts Game Three.
Boone has said that there will really only be one traditional starter, James Paxton, that the Yankees will use in the postseason, and everyone else will hand it over to the bullpen sooner rather than later.
For those innings that the Yankees’ starters are in for, they need to pitch at their best.
James Paxton makes his first career postseason start in Game One of the ALDS.
James Paxton’s postseason debut will come in the Bronx in game one of the ALDS. Not a bad place to have your first start
— Dan Federico (@DanJFederico) October 3, 2019
Paxton ended the year pitching the best he has all season, earning himself the role of Game One starter. Paxton, or Big Maple, finished off the season winning his last ten starts, putting up a 2.51 ERA, and .177 batters against average in those games. Paxton left his last start of the season with a tight left glute, yes, his glute, but has recovered and is ready to go on Friday night. He dominated his last starts, and hopefully, he does the same in Game One.
Saturday night, it’s Tanaka Time.
Masahiro Tanaka did not have the same kind of ending to his season as Paxton did, but his postseason resume speaks for itself.
Torre started Pettitte in Game 2 a lot because he was trusted. If you lost Game 1, you had Andy. I like Tanaka as the Game 2 starter. He has a 1.50 Postseason ERA.
— Rich (@RAKcity27) October 3, 2019
When October hits, Tanaka is lights out for the most part. In five postseason starts, he has thrown thirty innings, has put up a 1.50 ERA, .162 batters against average, and has only given up five runs, all of them earned. That is the kind of performance the Yankees need from him in October.
Luis Severino has had a weird season.
Sevy was hurt all the way until September but pitched as if he was never on the Injured List. In three starts this season, Severino has a 1.50 ERA, .146 batters against average, and has only given up two runs. Pretty good for not having pitched until September.
Severino has pitched against the Twins in the postseason before, and it did not end well – for him. The Yankees faced the Twins in the Wild Card game at Yankee Stadium in 2017, and only got one batter out. He gave up four hits and three runs, and the Yankees took him out. The Yankees won that game 8-4, but Severino is still not happy about his performance in that Wild Card game.
Luis Severino on facing the Twins:
"They have a good lineup, but we have a good lineup too. We will see. I faced them in 2017. That wasn't good, but we won that day. I can get revenge for what happened there."
(Severino said the revenge part with a smile)
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 29, 2019
Luis Severino is ready to show the Twins how good he really is on Monday night.
The Yankees have the best chance of taking down the Twins in the ALDS if their starters pitch the way the Yankees need to. They know they can pitch well, and the Twins should be scared.
Featured Image: Brad Penner - USA Today Sports
