The decision to carry a 12 pitchers instead of 13 on the ALDS roster was a topic of discussion among Yankees brass.
“The 12 or 13 pitches was a little bit of a debate for us, obviously something we stewed over,’’ Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ 10-4 win over the Twins in Game 1 of the ALDS on Friday night in The Bronx.
When it was decided 12 arms would suffice, it was between lefty relievers Stephen Tarpley and Tyler Lyons. Had CC Sabathia been healthy (he was declared out on Thursday due to a left-shoulder problem) he would have rounded out the 12-man staff.
“Felt like Lyons was in there more in the situation we kind of carved out for him,’’ Boone said of Lyons, who was signed after being released by the Pirates in mid-August. “And feel like he has success in those spots.’’
Left-handed hitters batted .286 (6-for-21) against Lyons, while right-handed hitters batted .259 (7-for-27). With the Yankees, left-handed hitters batted .267 (4-for-15) against him.
Boone said Tarpley was dealing with an illness and that he was OK, but that the belief was that he or Lyons could have handled the role Lyons will be used in.
Despite Luke Voit’s late-season struggles he was included on the 25-man roster and Boone targeted a spot for the right-handed hitting first baseman off the bench.
“[Reliever Taylor] Rogers is there one guy pretty tough against lefties,’’ said Boone, who only had two (Gardner and Didi Gregorius) in the lineup against starter Jose Berrios. “I feel Voit is a potential bullet against him.’’
Voit returned from the injured list (hernia) on Aug. 30 and while he said the recent struggles aren’t health related he didn’t look like the hitter he was last year or the one before suffering an abdominal injury running the bases on June 29 against the Red Sox in London.
In 23 games since Aug. 30 the right-handed hitting Voit hit .208 (16-for-77) with a .673 OPS, two homers, eight RBIs and struck out 27 times.
Boone didn’t have a pregame speech for his club since he talked to it Thursday.
“The next play is the most important all the time. You can’t be held back by a mistake and can’t let your guard down because you have success. That was my message,’’ Boone said.
Boone hasn’t closed the door on Sabathia rejoining the Yankees should they advance to the ALCS.
“This week wasn’t great for him,’’ Boone said of Sabathia, who pitched a perfect inning out of the pen on Sept. 24 against the Rays, but didn’t bounce back from his first-ever regular season relief outing. He received a cortisone shot and pitched a simulated game earlier this week. “Hopefully he can continue to build a little and be an option for us at some point.’’
