Baseball Should Yankees have given ball to Masahiro Tanaka for Game One? by Chris Passarelli October 3, 2019 Although Aaron Boone held everything close to the vest until this point, it was officially announced that James Paxton will start Game One of the ALDS, with Masahiro Tanaka starting Game Two and Luis Severino starting Game Three. While Paxton deserves the start because of his excellent stretch towards the end of the season, most Yankee fans would still be more comfortable with Masahiro Tanaka as the Game One starter. Why? Because he is nails in the postseason and the most trusted man in the Yankees’ rotation. Tanaka holds a 3-2 record in the postseason, with a 1.50 ERA. It’s a large enough sample size where we know exactly what to expect of the ace come playoff time. All in all, Tanaka’s worst start was his performance in the 2015 Wild Card Game, where he gave up two solo home runs to the Houston Astros in a 2-0 loss. Other than Tanaka’s pedigree of success in the postseason, Paxton’s lack of history in the playoffs is concerning. We don’t know which James Paxton will see and although that may not be a bad thing, it could also blow up in the Yankees’ face. Will James Paxton be a successful Game One starter? Possibly, but having Masahiro Tanaka in the playoffs is almost a sure bet for success. We shall see Friday which James Paxton we see. Post Views: 1,253 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Chris Passarelli Football Editor - Hockey Editor - New York Islanders Lead Writer - New York Lizards Lead Writer - UConn Football Lead Writer Latest posts by Chris Passarelli (see all) NFL Network to Premiere ‘The Top 100 Players of 2020’ on July 26 - July 22, 2020 The ‘Toilet Bowl’ may be coming to Western New York - July 16, 2020 Bigger is Better; SoFi Stadium Completes Largest Videoboard in Sports - July 1, 2020 Smoltz, Vrabel and Brown talk American Century Championship and Everything in Between - June 30, 2020 Related TopicsALDSMasahiro TanakaMLB2019New York Yankees Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 19, 2021 Michael Jordan Could Change the Future of Nascar for the Better by Inesh Chari | posted on March 30, 2021 WNBA Rolling Out Red Carpet For Upcoming 25th Anniversary Season by Jason Cordner | posted on March 16, 2021 More in Baseball You Know I’m Right, Episode 112: New York Jets’ Insider Brian Costello (Audio/Video) On the 112th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) On the 109th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 108: WFAN’s Sweeny Murti (Audio/Video) On the 108th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 107: New York Post’s Columnist Mike Vaccaro (Audio/Video) On the 107th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... James Paxton goes from “bust” to playoff game 1 starter for Yankees Mickey Callaway Fired as Mets Manager