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Yankees pencil in rotation plans with ALDS heading to Yankee Stadium
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- Yankees pencil in rotation plans with ALDS heading to Yankee Stadium
ST PETERSBURG, Fla. — With the ALDS moving to the Bronx on Wednesday, the Yankees have penciled in their rotation plans.
Aaron Boone said the Yankees will "probably" start lefties Max Fried in Game 3 and Carlos Rodón in Game 4. The manager spoke before Cam Schlittler started Game 2 at Tropicana Field on Monday and with the Bombers already down 1-0 in the best-of-five series.
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"Obviously, it's always subject to change based on how the series unfolds," Boone said. "But that's kind of how we're planning on going right now."
While Fried was sharp in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against Boston, Rodón hasn't pitched in a real game since Sept. 22, his last start of the regular season. That outing came against the Rays at Yankee Stadium; he tossed eight scoreless innings with zero walks and eight strikeouts.
Rodón most recently threw a simulated game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday that lasted about 65 pitches, according to pitching coach Matt Blake. He also threw a bullpen at The Trop on Monday.
"He wants to pitch, and obviously his turn's coming up," Blake said. "We're trying to bide our time until we get there."
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The Yankees debated having Rodón, who closed the regular season out on a dominant stretch, start Game 1 of the ALDS over Gerrit Cole . However, they ultimately went with Cole because his stuff plays up indoors at The Trop, Blake said. Holding off on Rodón also gave the Yankees an opportunity to have both of their southpawed starters pitch at Yankee Stadium, where a short right field porch is friendly to left-handed hitters.
The Yankees are hoping that Fried and Rodón can neutralize Tampa's lefties back in New York.
At the same time, pushing Rodón to an unguaranteed Game 4 also created the possibility that he may not pitch in the playoffs. He didn't appear in any Wild Card games despites being available out of the bullpen.
"That was definitely something we had to weigh," Blake said. "Whether we went down without pitching Gerrit or we went down without pitching Carlos, either way, you're gonna have a tough time sleeping at night knowing you might have left the better option on the table just because both those guys have strong records, and obviously, you feel good about either of those guys starting games for us."
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With Fried and Rodón lined up for starts — Schlittler would get a winner-take-all Game 5 — Boone could use Cole as a bullpen option later in the series. However, "I hope I never have to," the manager added.
The 2023 Cy Young winner has never pitched in relief during the regular season or in the playoffs.
