It was pretty apparent last night that Tex was going to be in the lineup today. He was on deck getting ready to pinch hit for Bird in the 9th before Beltran sent everyone home with a walk-off sac fly. In Tex's stead, Bird had done more in this past week than you could have possibly asked from him. It's unclear exactly what his role is going to be going forward but I'd venture to guess he'll be pinch-hitting in Atlanta before spotting A-Rod and Tex periodically as the Yanks play 30 games in 31 days to close out the season.
Tex's return couldn't have come at a better time as the Astros will throw out their ace tonight. Every hitter the Yankees can put in the right-handed batters box is crucial as Keuchel absolutely carves up lefties to the tune of a .365 opponents OPS. His last time out against the Yanks he tossed a complete game shutout in Houston, striking out 12. If there's one thing to feel good about heading into tonight it's that Keuchel hasn't been nearly as good on the road as he's been at Minute Maid Park (11-0 with a 1.35 at home, 3-6 with a 3.65 on the road). Gardy and McCann will get the night off against the southpaw with Chris Young and JR Murphy taking their places respectively. Ellsbury and Didi are the lone lefties in the starting lineup.
Ivan Nova toes the rubber for the Yanks tonight. He's coming off a pretty lame start against Cleveland last week. If you asked me today who out of the current five man rotation has the least likely chance of earning a postseason start I'd say it's Nova. Eovaldi has certainly earned one with the way he's pitched, Severino hasn't had a bad start since getting the call, Tanaka is still largely considered the ace of the staff and Michael Pineda is going to be afforded every opportunity to earn one once he returns. Nova has been up and down since coming back from TJ and hasn't done very much to earn the Yankees' trust yet. That could definitely change tonight if he manages to out-duel one of the best pitchers in baseball and get the Yanks a win that they really need.
Another encouraging part about Tex returning is how it might affect A-Rod. There's no question his plate discipline hasn't been quite what it was earlier in the year and he may start to see a few more fat pitches now with the big guy back hitting behind him. I really hope so anyway. If A-Rod truly has nothing more in the tank this year the Yanks are in trouble. Let's hope Mark's return can help spark him and this offense and get them both back on track.
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