Rangers manager Ron Washington revealed his ALCS rotation on Wednesday in a chat with the media. MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan has all of the details, quotes, and a roster change that involves speedy infielder Esteban German. (Hint: he’s been cut).
Because staff ace Cliff Lee was needed to go the distance in Tuesday’s ALDS Game 5 victory over the Rays, the left-hander will not pitch in the second round against the Yankees until Game 3. That will leave C.J. Wilson to start Game 1 and Colby Lewis to take on the Yanks in Game 2.
Tommy Hunter, 24, will probably start in Game 4, unless the Rangers are completely backed against a wall.
Wilson was converted from a setup role at the beginning of this season and posted astonishingly great results throughout 2010, never showing a sign of fatigue. He finished with a 15-8 record, a 3.35 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP over 33 regular-season starts and fired off 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his lone ALDS outing against Tampa Bay.
Lewis was signed out of a Japanese professional baseball league last winter and had a 3.72 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 196/65 K/BB ratio over 32 starts in his first year back in the states. He threw five scoreless innings in Game 3 of the ALDS on Saturday.