Francisco Cervelli Gets Starting Nod Over Jorge Posada for Game 4

Filed under: Rangers, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, American League Championship SeriesNEW YORK -- On Tuesday, for just the seventh time since 2000, someone other than Jorge Posada was slated to start at catcher for the Yankees in a postseason game.

Francisco Cervelli, who has caught A.J. Burnett's final nine regular-season starts, was in the lineup for Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, batting ninth.

"I believe in continuity when it comes to pitchers and catchers," said manager Joe Girardi, a former catcher, "so that's why I chose to do it that way."

In the regular season, Cervelli hit .271 with no homers and 38 RBI in 266 at-bats. Posada batted .248 with 18 homers and 57 RBI in 383 at-bats.

But Girardi said it is worth sacrificing offense for the comfort of Burnett -- whose start in Game 4 has been widely discussed because of his poor second half of the season (3-8, 5.95 ERA). Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

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