NEW YORK — The New York Yankees and Houston Astros plan all-bullpen games from the start in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series.
Neither team had a starting pitcher it wanted to use for Game 4 on Wednesday.
“J.A. Happ could very much be in the mix, as well as I picture our bullpen being unleashed on that day,” New York Manager Aaron Boone said Monday.
A starter during the regular season, Happ has relieved during the playoffs. He entered in the 10th inning of Game 2, escaped a two-out jam, then allowed Carlos Correa’s home run leading off the 11th that gave the Astros a 3-2 win.
Houston Manager AJ Hinch started Zack Greinke in the opener followed by Justin Verlander in Game 2. Hinch anticipates rookie right-hander Jose Urquidy will pitch at some point in Game 4 but preferred to call it “a bullpen day.”
“That’s the cool thing to say nowadays,” Hinch said. “Maybe Urquidy starts, maybe he comes in the middle of the game. And we go with somebody with a little bit more experience. But we haven’t made that decision. We don’t even know if we’re going to play that day. There’s been a lot of talk about the weather.”
Heavy rain is forecast for Wednesday, and if Game 4 is postponed, Masahiro Tanaka and Grienke would start Thursday on normal rest.
n Boone said a decision won’t be made until Wednesday on outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, who strained his right quadriceps in the opener and missed Game 2.
CUBS: The team plans to interview former Philadelphia manager Gabe Kapler and Houston bench coach Joe Espada this week about its managerial opening.
The Cubs are searching for a successor to Joe Maddon, whose contract expired after Chicago missed the playoffs this year for the first time since 2014. At least four other candidates have spoken with the team about the job: Joe Girardi, Mark Loretta, David Ross and Will Venable.
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