Here’s the Yankees’ lineup for Game 6 of the ALCS tonight against Colby Lewis:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Curtis Granderson, CF
3. Robinson Cano, 2B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Lance Berkman, 1B
6. Nick Swisher, RF
7. Jorge Posada, C
8. Marcus Thames, DH
9. Brett Gardner, LF
Berkman moves up in the lineup, but the bigger surprise is Thames drawing a rare start against a right-handed pitcher. How rare? Well, he’s started a grand total of one game versus a righty since September 1 and that came on the final day of the season when the Yankees had nothing to play for.
Thames hit well versus righties overall this season, but the sample size was all of 95 plate appearances and for his career he’s batted just .236 with a .296 on-base percentage off righties, albeit with a ton of power and a solid .480 slugging percentage. Of course, with Mark Teixeira out the Yankees don’t have a whole lot of other options.