Joba Chamberlain’s journey to the mound didn’t exactly ring a bell.
“The run [from the bullpen] was a little longer than I remember, but it was great to be part of it,” he said.
Chamberlain was a starter all year for the Yankees, but on the regular season’s last day, he went back to the pen — three batters, three outs, no problem. Last night, he was back in the pen again for ALDS Game 1 — one batter, one out, no problem.
Chamberlain, whose role has been debated for two-plus years, closed out the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 7-2 victory against the Twins, entering with one on and two outs to retire Delmon Young on a force play.
If you’re keeping track, Chamberlain’s now faced four batters in relief this season — four up, four down.
“It’s nothing different,” he said of his relief outing last night. “I didn’t feel anything different.”
Chamberlain has been a dominant reliever in his career, and for this round at least, his return makes the Yankees bullpen almost frightening. Last night he was part of a crew that included Phil Hughes, Phil Coke and Mariano Rivera, who combined to hurl 2 1/3 shutout innings.
After the game, manager Joe Girardi reiterated that “Phil Hughes is our eighth-inning guy,” and Hughes recorded the bullpen’s biggest out — staving off a potential Twins rally in the seventh the same way he helped stave off Yankees’ elimination in the 2007 playoffs.
With the Yankees up 6-2 in the seventh, the Twins had two on, two out, Orlando Cabrera up and — worst of all — Joe Mauer on deck.
Hughes said he didn’t want to walk Cabrera and have to face Mauer.
“You kind of are a little bit [aware of his presence],” he said.
Hughes battled through a 10-pitch at-bat to strike out Cabrera and end the threat.
Hughes had pitched in the postseason two times before, including Game 3 of the 2007 ALDS against the Indians when he picked up the win with 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. But this series amounts to a different role for the 23-year-old righty — Hughes is now the Yankees’ chief setup man.
But Hughes was dominant in that capacity during the season, posting a 1.40 ERA in relief. And the Yankees weren’t worried about him for the playoffs.
“He has been in the playoffs before,” Rivera said Monday. “If I have to say something, I will. But I think he’s prepared.”
He was. So was Chamberlain.
— Additional reporting
by George A. King III
