CLEVELAND -- After the Yankees called upon four relievers to record 26 outs in Tuesday night's 8-4 win over the Twins in the American League Wild Card Game, Dellin Betances' services figure to be a key for the Yanks' late-inning mix tonight in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Indians.
Having struggled of late with his command, Betances said he understood why he was bypassed in favor of Chad Green, Player Page for David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Albertin Chapman, with that quartet firing 142 pitches in the Wild Card win.
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"[Manager Joe Girardi] rolled with the hot hand," Betances said. "These guys did an unbelievable job, from Chad Green going in there with that situation [second and third with one out in the first inning, and the Twins leading, 3-0]. He went with the guys that were hot. We won the game, so it worked. For me, I was just rooting for my teammates and hoping that we won that game."
Green, Robertson, Kahnle and Chapman all said they felt fine during Wednesday evening's workout at Progressive Field, but Girardi said he would especially try to stay away from Green (41 pitches), Robertson (a career-high 52 pitches) and Kahnle (29 pitches) in Game 1 of the ALDS presented by Doosan.
That increases the importance of Betances and Adam Warren, who made just one regular-season appearance after returning from a stint on the disabled list with lower back spasms that cost him most of September. Girardi said he felt no need to discuss the situation with Betances.
"I'm telling you, he's going to be important in this," Girardi said. "If we're going to win, he's going to be extremely important, and I'm going to use him."

Girardi said he would not use Luis Severino out of the bullpen despite his abbreviated 29-pitch start on Tuesday, opting to line up the right-hander for a potential Game 4 start in New York. Girardi said the Yankees would add additional pitchers to their roster for the ALDS. That likely will include Jaime Garcia and Jordan Montgomery. They carried 10 arms for the Wild Card Game.
"I think we're so deep down in the bullpen that you can use three or four guys one night, and then use another three or four guys the next night," Warren said. "We have the depth, and especially now when you can stretch guys out a little bit more, you can use guys two-plus innings. That helps out. I think with how deep our bullpen is, we can use our bullpen more than most teams."
Betances had strung together three sharp outings before stumbling in his final regular-season appearance on Sept. 29 at Toronto, allowing a walk and a hit before Girardi quickly called on Chapman to get the final three outs.
"Walks have been a problem all year for me," Betances said. "I put a lot of guys on, and I don't think it's about me getting hit, per se. For me, that's something that I've been trying to limit. I felt better the last week overall. I understand why he went with the guys that he chose yesterday. Those guys did an unbelievable job."