Six months ago, Joe Girardi deleted Jacoby Ellsbury from the lineup and used Chris Young against Dallas Keuchel in the AL wild-card game.
That the Yankees were blanked, 3-0, by the stylish lefty didn’t scare Girardi away from a similar plan for Tuesday’s rain-delayed Opening Day game against the Astros, who will start the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner at Yankee Stadium.
Girardi had the switch-hitting Aaron Hicks pegged to play left field instead of the lefty-swinging Brett Gardner, before Monday’s Opening Day tilt was called early in the morning due to rain. The game will be played Tuesday, and the manager is hoping Hicks’ ability to hit lefties leads to figuring out Keuchel.
“I wasn’t supposed to play against Keuchel,’’ Gardner said Monday, two days after being informed of the lineup move. “Obviously, Hicks swings the bat well against lefties, so I didn’t think I would [start].’’
Not helping Gardner’s chances of facing Keuchel was him being 0-for-3 against the lefty with three strikeouts (one looking) in the wild-card game.
Just because Gardner understands Girardi’s decision doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting a bit.
“It’s definitely disappointing. I’m not going to sit here and tell you I don’t want to start Opening Day because obviously I do,’’ said Gardner, who hit the franchise’s 100th Opening Day homer a year ago against the Blue Jays. “But I understand where Joe is coming from and I respect the decision. If I was better against lefties, if I had a better game in the wild-card game, if I had done better against [Keuchel], we wouldn’t be talking about that. I can handle that, it’s on me. I want to play every single day and not come out of the lineup and play a little better.’’
When Hicks was acquired from the Twins for catcher John Ryan Murphy, the Yankees talked about the 26-year-old switch-hitter’s ability to hit lefties. He is a career .272 hitter with a .808 OPS against lefties.
So, if Hicks hits lefties, he will likely be in the lineup against them, either in center or left, which means Ellsbury or Gardner won’t start. Hicks also could be used to play right field when Carlos Beltran is the DH or getting a day off.
“Hicks was going to play because he has had so much success against left-handers and has had some success against Keuchel [2-for-5 against him],’’ Girardi said. “Again, another very difficult decision. We didn’t have a lot of success off him last year, so I thought I would try something different. That’s really what it came down to.’’
In addition to the six shutout innings Keuchel threw against the Yankees in the wild-card game, the 28-year-old went 2-0 against them during the regular season with 16 shutout innings, giving up nine hits and a walk and whiffing 21.
“Obviously, I didn’t look good against him. I have a lot of respect for him and he had a great year last year, but he is not a guy you necessarily … I don’t want to say scared to face … but he is not a guy that is real overpowering, that’s real intimidating. He is not a very uncomfortable at-bat,’’ Gardner said of Keuchel, who went 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA and logged 232 innings. “He finds ways to beat you and get you out. I don’t know who my toughest lefty would be, but it might be somebody who throws harder and a little more overpowering. But he has good stuff.’’
Keuchel’s four-seam fastball and sinker both register about 90 mph, which is why Gardner is correct when saying he isn’t an overpowering pitcher.
Because Keuchel is 2-1 with a 1.13 ERA and 16 hits allowed in 24 career innings against the Yankees, with 26 strikeouts against one walk in three starts, he is proof you don’t need to push speed guns into triple digits to be effective.
Girardi is banking that Hicks will do better than Young, who went 0-for-2 and a walk against Keuchel in the wild-card game. After all, facing lefties is why Hicks is a Yankee.
