2012 MLB Playoffs: New York Yankees Swap Out Struggling Stars In Game 3 Lineup

By Ryan Gaydos
The Star-Ledger-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Yankees waited until the last minute to do it but finally Joe Girardi announced the lineups and some of it was expected. Tuesday night against the Detroit Tigers you will see Eduardo Nunez at shortstop, Eric Chavez at third base and Brett Gardner getting the start in left field.

Gardner will lead off for the Yankees batting in front of Ichiro Suzuki making the top of the lineup one of the fastest in baseball. Nunez will be batting ninth and Chavez seventh behind catcher Russell Martin. Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher will not be in the lineup and will more than likely come off the bench in a pinch-hitting situation.

Gardner will be starting for the first time since April 17 and is 5-for-11 against Tigers’ starter Justin Verlander all-time. Gardner will be in left field moving Ichiro to right field in place of Swisher.

Swisher is 1-for-34 with runners in scoring position. His lone hit did not drive in a run. Rodriguez, although with two home runs against Verlander, has not had an ounce of good in the playoffs. This is the second game in the postseason that he has not started.

A better sign for the Yankees than what they have been doing in the postseason. Nunez is not a defensive whiz but could provide the necessary speed on the base paths to score from first.

It is going to be extremely interesting to see how the Yankees lineup goes against Verlander who is 2-0 with 22 strikeouts and a 0.56 ERA in his two stars.

Consensus says that if the Tigers win Tuesday night, they will win the series but you never know with the Yankees in October. It still seems like the Yankees will have that one game which will change everybody’s mind about them, but with the recent performances, it does not seem that way.

Nevertheless, Yankees-Tigers Game 3 will be an interesting match.

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