From Now On, It All Comes Down To Starting Pitching

I think it comes down to starting pitching. -Joe Girardi

In tonights game, Joe Girardi didn't have many chances to blow the game. The combination of runs and a good enough performance from CC Sabathia made Girardi's job simple. For games six and seven, the Yankees offense must step up. More importantly, the starters must get through 6+ effective innings.

That means Hughes and Pettitte (if necessary) must get through six innings and keep the Yankees in the game in order for the Yankees to win the series. That means if the offense struggles, they must be in shutdown mode. If the offense has an on night, they can be good enough, like Sabathia tonight.

If the starters can give the Yankees six innings, that's all the Yankees can ask for. Pettitte proved Monday that he can easily matchup with Lee, but if Pettitte can hold the Rangers to one to two runs, and Lee isn't unhittable (maybe the offense can score a full run off of him!) in hypothetical terms the Yankees can win that game 7.

It seems like a simple enough concept, but good starting pitching wins ballgames. Get six innings from the starter, then go to some combination of Wood, Rivera, and another pitcher possibly. If the Yankees can do that, and score enough runs, they will win.

The saying goes "if you can't score you can't win." Let's teach the Rangers what that saying means.