GARY-ING THE LOAD
Girardi likely to stick with Sanchez in Game 3
With the season on the line Sunday night, Joe Girardi said he “probably” would start Gary Sanchez behind the plate with Masahiro Tanaka on the mound.
That decision would hardly be surprising, since Sanchez caught in the wild-card game versus the Twins, as well as the first two games of the ALDS against the Indians.
He also hit a two-run homer in Friday’s loss to Cleveland and is cemented as the No. 3 hitter in the lineup.
But Tanaka pitched significantly better to Austin Romine this season.
In 10 starts teamed with Romine, Tanaka had a 3.15 ERA, allowed seven homers and had an OPS of .664.
With Sanchez behind the plate in 21 other starts, Tanaka had a 5.34 ERA, opponents hit 27 homers off him and they had an OPS of .812.
Romine has only started one of Tanaka’s outings since June — but that was the 15-strikeout performance versus Toronto on Sept. 29, his final outing heading into the playoffs.
Tanaka has had excellent games with Sanchez, as well, most recently Sept. 14, when he whiffed eight Orioles and gave up two runs in seven innings.
And though Sanchez has cut down on his passed balls since he was benched for three games because of his defense, pitchers have thrown five wild pitches with him catching in just three postseason games.
No other catcher has seen more than one wild pitch so far in the playoffs.
Most of the miscues were not Sanchez’s fault, but with Tanaka’s propensity for burying his splitter in the dirt, it could prove to be a dangerous combination.
Tanaka, though, professed faith in his battery-mate.
“I think, just going back through the season … he caught me a whole lot and there’s going to be mistakes that are going to happen,” Tanaka said through an interpreter Saturday after working out at Yankee Stadium. “It’s part of baseball. But I have the full confidence and trust in Gary Sanchez. So I’m going to go full on. I’m not going to hold back anything [back] on that mound.”