I said last night wasn't a must win. You know why? Because if the Yankees lost, which they did, there's still a tomorrow, which is today. Well ladies and gentlemen, after last night's grueling, gut-wrenching 5-4 loss, tonight is literally a must win game. AJ Burnett is on the mound for the Yankees. Yes, I know it's not the ideal guy we want on the mound, but let's be honest, it's all we've got right now. But, A.J isn't the only guy on the team who needs to step up. The offense needs to step it up too. You know who you are Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. Rodriguez and Teixeira have combined to go 1 for 21, an ugly .047 average while combining for no homers and just two RBI thus far in the ALDS.
But all in all the spotlight will be on AJ Burnett. I mean, he is the starting pitcher and he's the guy who the Yankees need to pitch well to win this game. Burnett has struggled in his career against the Tigers going 4-2 with a 6.33 ERA. But look at the bright side, he made two starts against the Tigers this season, one on April 2 at the Stadium in which he picked up his first win by going 5 innings and allowing three runs while striking out six. His second start against Detroit came in Comerica Park on May 5 in which he went 7 innings, allowing five runs--two earned--while striking out five. So at least there's recent success for Burnett against the Tigers. If he can pitch like he did in those first two games against the Tigers, there's a good chance the Yankees win.Now, although Burnett has a career ERA over 6.00 against Detroit, there isn't a batter in Detroit's lineup that has handled Burnett regularly. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez have each hit .214 (3 for 14) and .259 (7 for 27) against AJ Martinez has one career homer off Burnett and three RBI. Delmon Young, Magglio Ordonez, and Brandon Inge have combined to hit .384 (10 for 26) in the series, but have combined to hit .227 (10 for 44) in their career's against A.J Burnett.
The Yankees will be facing Rick Porcello in this game. All the naysayers say the Yankees are doomed because AJ Burnett is going for the Yankees. Not so fast, Porcello isn't Cy Young himself either. He's won 14 games, but he has a 4.75 ERA while allowing 210 hits in 182.2 innings in the process. He's gone 2-2 in his four career starts against the Yankees with a 5.56 ERA. He did pitch against the Yanks this year in Comerica Park on May 5. He went 7 innings while allowing just two runs. I mean, the guy isn't a scrub, but he's certainly hittable.
There are a number of hitters in the Yankee lineup who have had good success against Porcello, although they're in small sample sizes. Robinson Cano is a .455 hitter (5 for 11) against Porcello. Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada are hitting .300 (3 for 10) and .333 (3 for 9) each against the 22 year old right hander. But the two guys in the Yankee order with the biggest spotlight, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, hit a combined .142 (2 for 14) with no homers or RBI against Porcello.Like I said, this is a must win. If the Yankees win, they'll send it back to the Bronx for a winner take all Game 5. If not, they go home for the winter wondering what went wrong. Can A.J Burnett step up and pitch well? Sure he can, but it's certainly no guarantee. But, I think he'll have a representative start. But, according to Joe Girardi, he'll have a short leash. Read HERE.
Either way, he'll need his offense and bullpen to back him up. It's going to take a team effort as usual to win this game, but it can most definitely be accomplished.
--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer
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