Yankees' Sabathia Available For Relief In Game 6
ARLINGTON (AP) -- Yankees ace CC Sabathia and Rangers lefty C.J. Wilson have already squared off twice in the AL championship series. They could share the mound again Friday night in Game 6.
Two days after starting Game 5, both are scheduled to throw bullpen sessions Friday. Instead, they could enter in relief if New York's Phil Hughes or Texas' Colby Lewis needs help.
"Our plan is, he's available [Friday]," New York manager Joe Girardi said about Sabathia. "Let's see how he feels tomorrow, but our plan is that he will be available for us."
The outing would be like old times for Wilson, who pitched out of the bullpen for several years before converting back to a starter this season.
"On a normal bullpen session, which I would throw tomorrow, I would normally throw 35-40 pitches and that's at like 80 to 90 percent intensity, so at 100 percent intensity with adrenaline I would have no problem throwing between 20 and 70 pitches," Wilson said.
Wilson also had a bit more insight on what went wrong for him in Game 5.
"I've had a blister on my (left index) finger all year, and it tore in the second inning yesterday," he said. "Good times. Blister juice on the ball. I was trying to adjust and everything went wrong."
Girardi also said he wouldn't hesitate to use closer Mariano Rivera or setup man Kerry Wood for two innings. The Yankees trail the best-of-seven series 3-2.
"I think that you have to manage it like there's no tomorrow," Girardi said. "Game 6, if we need him six outs, we need him six outs. I think that's what you have to do. If you need Woody six outs, you need Woody six outs. You worry about the next day the next day. For me, they are available as much as we need them."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
