With the playoffs fast approaching, teams are busy setting their pitching rotations.
Cleveland’s Orel Hershiser (14-6) will start Game 1 of the AL division series at New York and will be followed by rookie Jaret Wright, chosen over staff ace Charles Nagy to pitch the second game.
Baltimore Orioles manager Davey Johnson is expected to use a three-man rotation for the AL playoff series starting Wednesday in Seattle. Mike Mussina (15-8) will start the opener and be followed by Scott Erickson and Jimmy Key.
Florida manager Jim Leyland will start Kevin Brown (16-8, 2.69) in the Marlins’ first-ever playoff game, but will wait until the NL West race ends before setting up his rotation.
Ripken rests: In keeping with Johnson’s plan to give Cal Ripken and his sore back some rest, baseball’s ironman will get only two or three at-bats a game during the final three games of the season. There had been some suggestions following Wednesday’s division-clinching victory over the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday night that Ripken would get one at-bat then sit the rest of the game.
But Ripken, whose streak is at 2,475 said he’d use the last few games to work on his batting stroke.
Hundley surgery: Mets catcher Todd Hundley got a second medical opinion Thursday and has decided to undergo reconstructive elbow surgery Friday. He is likely to miss the first half of the 1998 season.
