Nathan Eovaldi could be available in relief role if Yankees reach ALDS

“With all the stuff that I went through in ’14, I talked about how dark those days were, to come back this year and be part of such a special team, such special guys”. “We truly are a family and we’ve built a great brotherhood in here”.

“This year was different”, said Rodriguez, champagne pouring down his face.

In the sweeping 113-year history of a baseball team that had just played its 17,567th game, however, this one regular-season win was meaningful for a much larger reason.

Eovaldi, the team’s leader in victories (14), innings pitched (1541/3) and starts (27) when he was sidelined, made four relief appearances in 2011, his first season.

“Probably about 1,200 of them, I’ve been through, which is roughly 12%, which isn’t really a lot“, Girardi said.

“For Alex to come in and have the year that he had this year was outstanding and it was a big lift for us“, said manager Joe Girardi.

That turned out to be a huge boost for the Yankees, who watched Warren pitch three scoreless innings after taking over for CC Sabathia to start the sixth, getting the ball to Dellin Betances in the ninth. I don’t remember who asked the question, but it was something about the idea of losing a connection to great Yankees teams of the past, then moving into the postseason with Rodriguez as the most senior Yankee in the clubhouse. “His value has been as big as any pitcher that we have in that room. Like I said, we wanted to be safe and not be stupid and not rush anything and stay healthy”. They had, at last, clinched an American League wild-card berth, punching a ticket to the postseason for the first time since 2012. “You think about 10,000 wins, the championships, the ideal game during the World Series, the flawless games during the season and what’s been accomplished here, but 10,000 wins is the mark of a consistent franchise”. As I said, we had a lot of challenges that we had to overcome. He also had two hits including a home run in Wednesday’s game, indicating he may be bouncing back.

“I saw him today and he said he felt good”, Girardi said. Girardi will shift his lineup around if the Yankees have locked up the home-field wild-card game, trying to mix in playing time and rest for his players.