11:41pm: X-rays came back negative and Joba has a right elbow contusion. He’ll be re-evaluated tomorrow. Good news, that looked scary.
11:23pm: Joba Chamberlain left tonight’s game in the 12th inning after getting hit in the right elbow with a broken bat. The barrel hit him square and the TBS broadcast showed a big welt right on the tip of his elbow. Joba threw a few warm-up pitches and gave a thumbs up, but Joe Girardi (rightfully) lifted him from the game anyway.
Let’s break some hearts tonight.
New thread for good luck. Also to keep things running smoothly.
New thread for site-loading purposes. Go Philbert.
The buzz of last night’s Game Three win is still in the air, and now the Yankees have a chance to clinch a trip to their third ALCS in the last four seasons with a win tonight. The pitching has been stellar so far and Phil Hughes will look to continue that trend in Game Four, but there is a well-rested bullpen behind him if necessary.
Unfortunately, the Yankees family lost a member recently as Joe Girardi’s father Jerry passed away following a long fight with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 81. Joe will remain with the team and manage tonight’s game though, which is something I’m sure his father would have wanted him to do. Let’s win it for Jerry Girardi fellas. Here are the lineups…
Baltimore Orioles
LF Nate McLouth
SS J.J. Hardy
RF Chris Davis
CF Adam Jones
C Matt Wieters
DH Jim Thome
1B Mark Reynolds
2B Ryan Flaherty
3B Manny Machado
LHP Joe Saunders (9-13, 4.07)
New York Yankees
DH Derek Jeter
LF Ichiro Suzuki
1B Mark Teixeira
2B Robinson Cano
3B Alex Rodriguez
RF Nick Swisher
C Russell Martin
CF Curtis Granderson
SS Jayson Nix
RHP Phil Hughes (16-13, 4.23)
The weather in New York is gorgeous but a little chilly, so perfect playoff weather. First pitch is scheduled for 7:37pm ET and the game can be seen on TBS. Enjoy.
The Orioles started left-hander Joe Saunders in an elimination game last Friday, and they’ll do the same tonight in Game Four of the ALDS. The 31-year-old southpaw was acquired from the Diamondbacks in late-August, and he went on to allow just one run in 5.2 innings against the Rangers in the AL wildcard play-in game last week. As bad as Texas had been swinging the bats, that was an unexpected;y strong performance.
The Yankees have seen plenty of Saunders over the years thanks to his time with the Angels, and in fact he made two playoff starts against the Bombers in the 2009 ALCS. He held them to two runs in seven innings in Game Two before getting hammered for three runs in 3.1 innings in the decisive Game Six. Saunders walked five and struck out zero in that game. He’s been in the NL the last few years though, so recent experience against the Yankees is limited.
2012 Performance vs. Yankees
| Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | HBP | BF | Pit | Str | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8 | BAL | NYY | W,5-4 | W(8-11) | 5.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.22 | 23 | 101 | 65 |
Saunders’ second start following the trade to Baltimore came against the Yankees in Camden Yards, and he pitched admirably despite allowing a run in the first (Alex Rodriguez sacrifice fly) and a run in the second (Ichiro Suzuki double). Saunders retired ten straight after the double and 12 of the final 15 hitters he faced overall. That was the Jerry Meals game, when the first base umpire called Mark Teixeira out to end the game even though he obviously beat the throw on what would have been the game-tying fielder’s choice.
Pitch Selection (via Brooks Baseball)
Saunders is a ground ball guy who won’t miss many bats, so it’s not a surprise that he throws a ton of upper-80s sinkers. His comfort zone is down-and-away to righties, as he’ll pound that corner of the zone with fastballs, low-80s changeups, and upper-70s curveballs. I’m not kidding, he’ll live down there all game and rarely come inside to batters of the opposite hand. Lefties get just the sinker and curveball and Saunders absolutely dominates his fellow left-handers. He’ll bust them inside with the fastball and go out of the zone with the curve for swings and misses.
Performance & Results
| TBF | wOBA | FIP | K% | BB% | GB% | FB% | LD% | HR/FB% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. RHB | 573 | 0.359 | 4.80 | 12.9% | 6.1% | 38.8% | 39.2% | 22.0% | 11.8% |
| vs. LHB | 172 | 0.201 | 2.65 | 22.1% | 2.3% | 58.9% | 22.6% | 18.5% | 0.0% |
Like I said, he dominates left-handers. In fact, Saunders has the biggest wOBA split among qualified starters this season, turning all righties into Nick Swisher and all lefties into Marlon Byrd. Seriously, those strikeout, walk, and ground ball numbers against lefties are top notch.
So, obviously, the Yankees have to stack their lineup with righties tonight. As bad as he’s been swinging the bat, Alex Rodriguez should start and hit right in the middle of the order. He hit lefties far better than righties this year (151 vs. 94 wRC+), and Saunders is exactly the type of pitcher he needs to face right now — a finesse left-hander who won’t come inside. If A-Rod is going to have some impact this series, Saunders is the guy you would expect him to do it against.
Derek Jeter’s new bone bruise might relegate him to DH, which I assume means Jayson Nix at shortstop. Joe Girardi will also have the option of playing Nix in left and Eduardo Nunez at short for a few innings, at least while Saunders is in the game. He could lift Nunez for defense and a pinch-hitter (Raul Ibanez?) as soon as a right-handed reliever is called upon. The Yankees didn’t do very much against Wei-Yin Chen in Game Two, but he went after them with low-to-mid-90s fastballs on both sides of the plate. Saunders won’t do that.
4:19pm: Girardi’s father actually passed away on Saturday, though the news did not become public until today. Still sad though, I wish the Girardis the best.
3:39pm: Joe Girardi’s father Jerry passed away today at age 81 following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He still lived in the family’s hometown of Peoria, Illinois, and Joe would often visit him on the team’s scheduled off-days. Girardi is a tough guy and he’s always credited his father for that, and he will remain with the team and manage tonight’s game. Condolences to Joe and his family.