NEW YORK _ James Paxton didn't arrive here with the pomp and circumstance of other significant trades that turned out to be difference-makers in the Bronx. The talented lefthander had to ease his way into being a Yankee and pitching in New York, actually. It was not a natural fit. He struggled to find his comfort zone and his way on the mound before pitching like the Bombers' ace the final two months of the regular season.
Friday night, that is exactly the role he will play.
Paxton was tabbed as the starter for the Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, which will be Friday night in the Bronx. He will be followed by Masahiro Tanaka in Game 2 and Luis Severino in Game 3, Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced Thursday.
"It was a difficult decision. Frankly, I went back and forth on it daily, sometimes a few times over the course of a day, and really what it came down to, the reason that was, is because I feel like all those guys are in a good place," Boone said. "I throw J.A. Happ in that mix, too, who I feel like is throwing the ball as well as he has at any point in the season."
The way that Boone used his rotation down the stretch gives us a good hint into how the Yankees plan to deploy their pitching in this best-of-five game series. With CC Sabathia now out because of a shoulder issue, Happ will likely be the multi-inning man in the bullpen. Severino, who had a disastrous playoff start against the Twins here in 2017, will face them at Target Field, where he's been good against them.
By using Tanaka out of the bullpen on Sunday, Boone was giving him a chance to get comfortable coming in during a game in case he needs to piggyback the righthander off Paxton in a decisive Game 5.
"Felt like it was a good decision, and then just trying to hopefully maximize those guys as best we can," Boone said. "So frankly, I would have been comfortable going in a lot of different ways with those guys, but I feel like James is the guy to get us off on the right foot."
Paxton had won a career-high 10 straight starts heading into his final start last weekend in Texas. He left the game after one inning with a tight left glute muscle, which he treated and says now will not be an issue. The 30-year-old lefty was dominant in that span, striking out 68 and walked 20 over 60 innings pitched.
Acquired from the Mariners this offseason, Paxton has never pitched in the playoffs, but stepped up in some big games down the stretch, including a 4-2 win over on Aug. 2. That was when things began to change for Paxton, particularly in how he attacked hitters.
Paxton began laying off his cut fastball and mixing in his curveball more at that point in the season.
"I think that incorporating the curveball is really important because it's just a change of speeds. When I throw the fastball at, say, 94 (miles per hour) to 96, and then I throw the cutter at 88 to 91, they can kind of stay looking hard and just pull the cutter and run into it almost by accident sometimes," Paxton said. "Whereas, if I throw the curveball at 80, 83, something like that, it will get them out front, and they won't be able to cover two pitches with the same swing."
Paxton's usage of the curveball spiked in August. He was throwing it just 12% of the time in July and in August he was using it 24%. In September, it was his pitch 30% of the time.
"I think that after seeing how the cutter was getting hit, we decided to mix in the curveball more, and as I threw the curveball more," Paxton said, "I got more and more confident with that pitch, and the usage kind of went up from there."
Paxton also said that it was an adjustment for him coming to the Yankees from the Mariners, where in seven seasons, he never faced games like these.
"The first half of the season was tough, just kind of navigating myself and pitching here. It is different. It's not easy, and it took some work," Paxton said. "I feel like in the second half, I started to get my feet under me and kind of get a good mental process going into games, and started to feel a lot more comfortable here."
But Friday night, the Bronx becomes a whole different place, transformed not just by the bunting and decorations on the field. The pressure of pitching for an organization that expects to win a World Series in the playoffs in a house packed with fervent fans is something that just has to be experienced.
But Sabathia, who went through that 10 years ago, said he thinks Paxton was the right choice for Game 1.
"Obviously, him running off ten in a row, he's got the stuff," Sabathia said. "Getting comfortable here as a Yankee takes you a minute. So I'm excited for him tomorrow. I think he'll be good for us."
