Yankees: Who are they going to start in Game 4 of the ALCS?

The Yankees have yet to use an opener this postseason but it looks like there’s a good chance we could see one in Game 4 Wednesday night.

Luis Severino will take the mound to start Game 3 on Tuesday opposite Gerrit Cole, and Masahiro Tanaka is on track to start Game 5 but right now the Yankees don’t have a starter set for Game 4. Depending on how the game plays out tonight we probably won’t know who will get the ball until hours before first pitch on Wednesday but it’s safe to assume that Aaron Boone is going to go with an opener to start the game.

The Yankee manager hinted at that during his press conference on Monday when he told the media that “it will be kind of a bullpen day.”

With that being said, there’s a couple of directions the Yankees could go in for Game 4. In a perfect world, they would start Chad Green and have him pitch the first two innings at least before handing the ball off to another high leverage guy. However, if Green is needed on Tuesday the Yanks aren’t going to hesitate to bring him in because that game obviously means more right now and Boone is going to use whoever he has to in order to win and go up 2-1 in the series.

That’s why it’s almost impossible to predict how Game 4 is going to play out because Boone is going to be very aggressive with his pen once again in Game 3. If the Yanks were up 2-0 in the series maybe they would hold Green out until Wednesday and give him an extra day of rest, but after the day off on Monday, he’ll be ready and available tonight.

Regardless of the outcome in Game 3 I think we’re going to see a true opener in Game 4 no matter what because right now the Yankees really don’t have any other options. J.A. Happ is the only other built up starter on the roster but he reminded us Sunday night why he shouldn’t be trusted in a big spot this postseason.

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However, if the Yankees pitch a lot of their high leverage guys tonight because Severino can’t give them length they might be stuck with Happ for multiple innings in Game 4, although it won’t be to start. I hope it doesn’t come to that but I could definitely see him being the first one on in relief especially after Boone said he is very much in the mix to pitch in that game.

There’s a good chance we could also see Luis Cessa and CC Sabathia. CC we know can go an inning or two after only facing one batter on Sunday, as can Cessa but I doubt he’d be the first option to pitch in long relief. Ideally, if Happ or CC has to pitch multiple innings after an opener the Yanks would still be able to finish the rest of the game with their high leverage guys for an inning each.

One outside of the box thought that crossed my mind after Sunday’s loss was the possibility of James Paxton pitching in Game 4 after he only threw 51 pitches in his start. Paxton is the likely Game 6 starter right now but if he’s feeling good enough to go multiple innings on Wednesday he could be very effective in that role.

I don’t think they’ll do that because they’re going to need Paxton to start Game 6 in Houston if necessary but it’s something to keep an eye on if the bullpen isn’t well-rested after Game 3.