ALDS Game 2 Lineups and Preview

Following last night’s slugfest, the following Yankees lineup will take on right-hander Max Scherzer:
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF

Freddy Garcia, originally slated to start Game 3 before Game 1 was suspended due to rain, will take the mound for the Yankees. Garcia only faced the Tigers once this season, way back on May 4 in Detroit. It certainly wasn’t Garcia’s best performance: he went 7 inning, giving up 10 hits, 2 walks, 4 runs, and striking out 8 on the way to the Yankees’ 0-4 loss. Granted, this is an incredibly small sample size that took place 5 months ago, so it is far from an accurate predictor of what we can expect from Freddy today.

I generally hate the phrase “he’s a professional pitcher” because it is so painfully obvious when talking about major league pitchers, but that is exactly what Freddy is. He is a seasoned veteran who knows very well that he doesn’t have the kind of stuff to blow batters away on pure speed and power, so he relies on fooling batters by mixing up his pitch selection and locating his pitches. The Tigers don’t have much of a running game, so if Garcia can keep them off the bases and prevent home runs, he should be able to keep the Yankees in the game, paving the way for New York’s deep bullpen in the late innings.