Manager Joe Girardi sat Alex Rodriguez in the Yankees’ 3-1 clinching win over the Orioles Friday in Game 5 of the ALDS, but if Eric Chavez could play center field for the Yankees, Curtis Granderson may have found his way to the bench.
Instead, Granderson, who had been nearly incapable of making contact through the series’ first four games, had his best at-bats in weeks yesterday, including a home run in the seventh that gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead.
“I knew everybody was needed,” Granderson said when asked about how Rodriguez’s benching affected him. “You can’t have any doubt. Decisions are part of it, but you’ve got to realize things can turn around pretty quickly.”
They did for Granderson.
Before the game, Girardi was asked whether he considered sitting Granderson, because clearly anything was fair game. The manager’s response wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for Granderson.
“You could talk about that, [but] where are you going to go to?” Girardi said. “People mentioned to me, ‘What about [Brett Gardner]? He’s had three at-bats since April 28 and I don’t think that’s fair to put him in that situation because we don’t know what we’re going to get from [Granderson].”
Granderson looked good at the plate throughout the game, not chasing as many off-speed pitches as he had been.
“[Hitting coach] Kevin Long said my swing is good, I just have to go after strikes,” Granderson said. “I had to go after pitches that were in the zone, and be disciplined.”
After a fly out to right in the third, Granderson followed with a single to center and a stolen base before his homer off Troy Patton.
“He came through,” Girardi said. “That third run is a huge run for us and off a lefty. For Curtis, the big thing is when he swings at strikes, he is extremely dangerous.”
And when he doesn’t, he’s dangerous to his own lineup. Perhaps yesterday was a sign of things to come.
“You have to understand things can turn with one swing of the bat,” said Granderson, who had just one hit in the series before yesterday and struck out nine times. “I had a bad four-game stretch that’s obviously more magnified and intense,” Granderson said, “but hopefully it’s over.”