Freddy Garcia wins Joe Girardi’s approval for ALDS – MLB News
New York Yankees' manager Joe Girardi has nominated Freddy Garcia to start Game 3 of the American League Division Series against Detroit Tigers. The game, scheduled for Monday, October 3 will be held at Comerica Park in Detroit.
Garcia will join CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova to complete a three-prong rotation for the Divisional Series, ruling out A.J. Burnett and Bartolo Colon from the rotation. Explaining his choice, manager Joe Girardi said, "We just like the way that Freddy's pitched.
We talked about it and debated it a long time and decided to go with Freddy. We like the way Freddy's competed all year and we're going to send him out there."
Garcia’s selection ensured that Colon will no longer play for the Yankees and will be traded out before the next season begins, partly because of his own performance. Burnett, on the contrary, has been a regular starter for the Yankees and might be considered
for the Championship Series.
Sabathia will start Game 1 and 4, Nova will perform duties in Game 2 and 5 while Garcia will take position in the third game. Garcia is not renowned for his pace and thus it might be a point of concern for the management, but Girardi, ruling out this concern,
stated that he actually likes the idea of adjusting the starter in between the more aggressive Sabathia and Nova.
Garcia started 25 games in the regular season and finished with a decent 12-8 record with an earned-run average of 3.62. His last start of the season, nonetheless, was the most impressive. He pitched six scoreless innings against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium,
but pitching at Comerica Park will be different. However, at the age of 35, he still has the ability to tackle quality batting line-ups.
Freddy, when asked about his ambitions for the post-season, remained humble and expressed that he does not want to overdo things just because he is pitching in the playoffs. Admitting that the Tigers have a strong line-up, Garcia emphasised that he will
concentrate on one pitch at a time and that is what matters.
The Yankees might use Burnett as a middle reliever in the first round and it will be interesting to see how this strategy pays out.
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