Joe Girardi made a minor move with his struggling lineup for Game 4. He flipped Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui. Posada hit fifth for the first time in six games and Matsui sixth.
“The reason we flip-flopped Jorge and Matty is Jorge has had a lot of success off (scott) Kazmir,’’ Girardi said of his switch-hitting catcher who started action batting .440 (11-for-25) against the Angels’ lefty starter. Matsui was 5-for-28 (.179). “That is the only reason we flip-flopped them.’’
Girardi, asked if thought about not starting the left-handed hitting Matsui, answered, “As far as not starting Matty, we had planned on starting him all the way today.’’
Girardi used seven relievers in Games 2 and 3 but he said he didn’t believe the workload would impact availability.
“No one threw a ton of pitches (in Game 3),’’ Girardi said. “I would think we would have everyone available. These extra inning games can tax your bullpen a little bit but with the days off, that’s really been helpful.’’