Now that the Yankees have advanced to the ALCS, they can finally begin planning for it. Since there’s no day off, the bulk of the planning will come in meetings on Saturday.
One thing that is certain is that Andy Pettitte will start the series opener. It will mark Pettitte’s third start in the opening game of the league championship series and first since 2005 for the Astros when he lost to Chris Carpenter.
“It is going to be tough games,” Pettitte said. “And for me, hopefully I have good command of all of my pitches, not walk any guys and give us a chance to win and hopefully give us a good outing.”
Pettitte has not faced Detroit since April 30, 2008. He is 10-9 with a 3.66 ERA in 23 career starts against the Tigers, but those numbers mean little since he has limited experience against Detroit’s current lineup.
For example, Miguel Cabrera is 4-for-12 lifetime against him but he has faced Prince Fielder just twice.
Cabera and Fielder were a combined 9-for-41 in Detroit’s victory over Oakland.
“He is just a great hitter,” Pettitte said of Cabrera. “Obviously he doesn’t have a lot of holes. He’s got power to the opposite field and he’s got obviously pull power. So when you have a guy like that, he’s tough to get out.”
Follow Yankees beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.
