Yankees bullpen will be tested with four games in a row
A rainy day in the Bronx has left a most daunting Oc- tober test for the New York Yankees’ vaunted bullpen: four games, four days and already a deficit to overcome against the Houston Astros in their AL Championship Series.
Game 4 of the ALCS scheduled for Wednesday night was postponed a day because of poor weather, with Game 5 pushed to Friday night at Yankee Sta- dium and Games 6 and 7 in Houston on Saturday and Sunday, if necessary. The winner will face Washington and its well-rested, talented rotation starting in the AL city on Tuesday.
With New York relying so heavily on its relievers this month, the starter-driven Astros may be at an advantage.
“If we’re going to win this series, our bullpen will still play a huge role, obviously,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But we’ve got to be able to get a little bit of distance out of our starters.”
Houston will pitch Zack Greinke on Thursday against the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka in a rematch of Game 1, both on regular rest. Tanaka pitched six sterling innings as New York won 7-0.
The Astros also announced that Justin Verlander will start Game 5 on full rest. He threw two-run ball into the seventh inning in a 3-2, 11-inning victory in Game 2 on Sunday.
“It was an easy decision,” Astros manager AJ Hinch said.
New York plans to counter Verlander with James Paxton. The left-hander was pulled after allowing a run over 2 1/3 rocky innings in Game 2, and concerns were raised that he was tipping his pitches.
Both clubs had planned to use openers Wednesday, and New York will almost certainly still use a bullpen day in the series, probably in Game 6. Boone has ridden his relievers hard, asking them to cover 15 1/3 out of 28 innings in the series — a tough enough task with October’s built-in days off. The rainout leaves Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and the rest of that group without some valuable recovery time.
ANGELS SIGN MADDON AS MANAGER >> Joe Maddon agreed to a three-year deal to become the Los Angeles Angels’ manager, reuniting three-time Manger of the Year and World Series winner with the organization where he spent the first three decades of his baseball career.
“We are thrilled that Joe is coming back home and bringing an exciting brand of baseball to our fans,” GM Billy Eppler said. “Every stop he has made throughout his managerial career, he has built a culture that is focused on winning while also allowing his players to thrive. We believe Joe will be a great asset for our club and look forward to him leading the team to another World Series championship.”
Maddon signed with the Angels as an undrafted catcher in 1975, and he spent the next 31 seasons working at almost every level of the organization as a player, coach and manager. He served as a big league assistant coach under five managers, and he had two stints as the Angels’ interim manager. He was the Angels’ bench coach alongside manager Mike Scioscia during their championship season in 2002.
“I could not be more excited to come back home and manage this great organization,” Maddon said. “I’d like to thank (owner) Arte Moreno, Billy Eppler and (president) John Carpino for giving me the opportunity to add another chapter to my Angels career. I was lucky enough to be a part of the first Angels team to win a World Series title, and I look forward to the opportunity to bring Angel fans their second championship.”
Maddon replaces Brad Ausmus, who was fired after one season when the Angels finished 72-90, their worst record since 1999. Ausmus was abruptly dismissed shortly after Maddon was let go by the Cubs.