The day has arrived: a do-or-die Game 5 for the Yankees and Guardians at Yankee Stadium, one team heading to Houston for the ALCS and one heading home for the winter.
And after a dominant ace performance by Gerrit Cole, it’s his old Pirates teammate, Jameson Taillon, who will get the ball, a few days after a first-ever relief appearance in Game 2 that did not go well.
That was new to Taillon, but this situation isn’t; he threw 177.1 innings and posted a 3.91 ERA in 32 starts, and happened to be the guy on the mound the day the Yankees clinched the AL East in Toronto – so he is both ready for the opportunity and the pressure.
“I feel like we have prepared for this moment. Playing the AL East, facing the line-ups we have faced, seems like playing in a Yankees uniform in Yankees Stadium every game is a big game. We're ready for it,” Taillon said after Game 4. “It is a big opportunity. Props to Gerrit for just pushing the ball forward, getting us back home. You know, we go back with a rested bullpen and I'm ready to go for Game 5.”
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The circumstances are a little different than any other game in Taillon’s career, though – not only is it his first postseason start ever, but there’s no tomorrow if the Yankees lose. Once again, he feels he’s the perfect guy for the moment.
“There’s definitely going to be some added adrenaline and stuff when you step foot in Yankee Stadium, but I will keep my day as normal as possible. Knowing that the fans are going to bring it over the top, I think it is important for us to just prepare,” he said. “You know, do our research, do our studying, do our pregame work, and try to keep it mellow knowing that when you get out there, obviously, you know, we'll be excited for the moment with the fans going crazy and stuff. I'm a guy who if I get too far outside of myself and my game plan, that's not going to work for me. I need to just keep it simple, keep it mellow, execute pitches and do my job.”
Taillon’s appearance in Game 2 is his only game action in the last two weeks, as his last regular season start came in the Oct. 4 doubleheader in Texas. However, after most of the last 12 days off, he feels ready as ever to give the Yankees as much length as he can and they need.
“Definitely ready,” he said. “I have kept working in the weight room, training room, the staff keeping me ready, the long toss program, the bullpens. I definitely still feel built up for whatever they need.”
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How far he goes will be dictated by game flow, as it’s going to be all hands on deck for both teams – but that doesn’t necessarily change how he and the Yankees prepare.
“It’s definitely a different situation, but at the end of the day it is about executing my pitches to my areas and that's as simple as I can keep it,” Taillon said. “Look at the scouting reports, figure out my safe areas, and attack those with my best stuff. That's what my game plan is going to be. I'm not going to have anything in mind other than just attacking with my best stuff to my best areas.”
He does, at least, have the benefit of having seen four games against the Guardians, so he’s seen exactly what they’re bringing to the table right now.
“They're extremely contact-oriented, spread the ball around, a deep line-up. There is competitive at-bats all the way through. I feel like they do a lot of different things pretty well. They have a bit of thump in the middle, got contact throughout. They have got aggressive guys, patient guys, fast guys. So yeah I mean, it is a good challenge,” Taillon said. “But our catchers are always locked in, always communicating, game planning together and stuff. So the opportunity for them to see how everybody's stuff plays against different hitters and stuff is going to help.”
To use a cliché, at the end of the day, what does Taillon need to do for the Yankees to win Game 5?
“Just go out and do what he did to clinch the division against Toronto. That was some good stuff,” said Gerrit Cole.
Added Harrison Bader: “I have complete confidence in what he does and there’s a reason he’s in this position. Just keep it really simple.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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