NEW YORK — Though the Yankees did not formally submit their roster for the American League Wild Card Game until Wednesday morning, manager Aaron Boone revealed the club’s choices in advance of the contest against the Athletics, including the decision to carry 10 pitchers.
With J.A. Happ, Lance Lynn, Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka all active, the bullpen will be populated by Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, Zach Britton, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder and David Robertson.
NEW YORK — Though the Yankees did not formally submit their roster for the American League Wild Card Game until Wednesday morning, manager Aaron Boone revealed the club’s choices in advance of the contest against the Athletics, including the decision to carry 10 pitchers.
With J.A. Happ, Lance Lynn, Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka all active, the bullpen will be populated by Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, Zach Britton, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder and David Robertson.
:: AL Wild Card Game schedule and results ::
• AL Wild Card Game presented by Hankook Tire: Tonight, 8:08 p.m. ET on TBS
Boone announced on Tuesday that Severino would start the AL Wild Card Game.
“As far as with Sevy, hopefully he pitches deep into this game, and if he’s pitching well, he’ll have that kind of opportunity,” Boone said. “But obviously with our bullpen and what we’ll have available at our disposal, we’ll also be very aggressive in making moves or trying to set up the best matchups, depending on the game.”
Video: AL WC: Boone names Severino as Wild Card Game starter
The Yankees will carry three catchers, with Gary Sanchez, Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka all active.
“In a one-game situation, [there isn’t] the need for as many pitchers,” Boone said. “I’d probably be pretty aggressive with a pinch-run situation at any point, which maybe brings a second catcher into play. If you needed a hit for a catcher late in the game, you’re covered there.”
The infielders will be Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius, Adeiny Hechavarria, Gleyber Torres, Tyler Wade, Neil Walker and Luke Voit, with Wade utilized to pinch-run. In the outfield, the Yankees chose Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Andrew McCutchen and Giancarlo Stanton.
Video: Luke Voit named Player of the Week
Greg Bird, Sonny Gray and CC Sabathia were left off the 25-man roster for the Wild Card Game, as was rookie Stephen Tarpley. Sabathia and Tarpley are expected to be added if the Yankees advance to the AL Division Series presented by T-Mobile.
“We’ll cross that bridge on Thursday morning, hopefully, when we’re still standing,” Boone said.
For openers
The Athletics will use Liam Hendriks as their “opener” on Wednesday, a strategy that the Yankees have had mixed results countering. The Rays used three openers last week at Tropicana Field, and New York took three of those contests. Prior to that series, the Yanks were 3-7 vs. opponents who sent openers to the mound.
“It’s a game of adjustments, and that’s how it seems, whether it’s adjusting to team lineups or just how their starters and relievers match up with teams,” Stanton said. “In a case like Tampa, they didn’t have enough starters, so that’s kind of what started them to do that with the relievers. And then it was successful, so a couple other teams started picking it up.”
Video: [email protected]: Andujar rips a 3-run homer to left field
Hendriks will be the fourth pitcher to start a postseason game after a winless season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Virgil Trucks started twice for Detroit in the 1945 World Series after returning from World War II.
The others were the Brewers’ Yovani Gallardo in 2008 after returning from a torn knee ligament, and the Cardinals’ Chris Carpenter in ’12 following surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.
“You don’t know where it’s going to go from here, but that’s kind of the new age we’re in right now,” Stanton said.
Role reversal
Boone took a seat in the manager’s office at Yankee Stadium prior to last year’s AL Wild Card Game against the Twins as part of the ESPN broadcast team that met with Joe Girardi leading up to the Yankees’ 8-4 win over the Twins.
Video: [email protected]: Boone on preparing for Wild Card Game
Now, Boone is behind that desk, having piloted the Yankees to 100 victories in his rookie season and eyeing more as October draws on.
“When you put this uniform on, that goes with the territory,” Boone said. “I view that pressure as a privilege, and we’ll all embrace that and look to apply that to our opponent. Yeah, we’ve had a great season to this point, but that’s now behind us, and the real season starts now. Our guys will be ready, and I look forward to watching them go out and do their thing tomorrow night.”
Bryan Hoch has covered the Yankees for MLB.com since 2007. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and on Facebook.
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