Masahiro Tanaka will take the ball in Game 1 of the ALCS against Zack Greinke and the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park, Aaron Boone announced on Friday. James Paxton will start Game 2 opposite Justin Verlander, and Luis Severino will get the nod in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium against Gerrit Cole.
For his career, Tanaka is 4-2 with a 1.54 ERA over 35 innings (six starts) in the postseason.
Boone did not offer much on why Tanaka/Paxton were flip flopped from the DS. My hunch: by starting G1 on road, Tanaka would get G5 at home rather than both G2 and G6 on road. #Yankees
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) October 11, 2019
Yankees rotation:
Game 1 – Tanaka (6 days rest)
Game 2 – Paxton (8 days rest)
Game 3 – Severino (7 days rest)
— Andrew (@Andrew_Rotondi) October 11, 2019
Paxton is coming off his first career postseason start against the Twins in Game 1 of the ALDS in which he gave up five hits and three runs while striking out eight over 4.2 innings.
Severino should be built up to around 90-100 pitches at this point. He walked a tightrope in ALDS Game 3 at Target Field, tossing four innings of shutout ball.
With a rested and deep bullpen, the Yankees will likely follow the same recipe they used against Minnesota; five innings or so from the starter, then a barrage of relievers.
