MIAMI — Lance Lynn may be built like a plow horse, a barrel-chested pitcher with a constitution built to carry his team deep into games. But the Yankees, with their deep, dominating bullpen, are built to make a man of Lynn’s talents gratuitous.
The formula is simple: get through five with a lead and turn the game to a bullpen.
But on Wednesday, with closer Aroldis Chapman sent to the disabled list and another reliable reliever, David Robertson, nursing a tender shoulder, Manager Aaron Boone leaned on Lynn a little longer than he might have preferred.
If Lynn or the bullpen had been able to navigate through the sixth with a lead, it boded well for the Yankees: They are 61-3 this season when leading after six innings.