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Maryland Native Teixeira Clips Orioles’ Wings

GAME 35

YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 5

For the past four seasons Orioles fans having been booing Maryland native Mark Teixeira whenever he comes to the plate at Camden Yards in some misguided thought that Teixeira owed the city of Baltimore enough that he should have signed a free-agent contract with their team for less money.

On Monday night, Teixeira treated those fans to what they have been missing the last four years by launching a majestic two-run blast in the seventh inning to break up a 5-5 tie to lead New York to a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Baltimore.

Former Yankee reliever Luis Ayala (1-1) gave up a leadoff single to Alex Rodriguez, his third single of the game. One out later, Teixeira ripped into a 1-2 fastball on the outside corner and pulled into the right-field bleachers for his fifth home run of the season.

Reliever David Phelps (1-1) picked up his first major-league victory in relief with a scoreless inning of work. Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his second save of the season.

The game was a back-and-forth affair because neither starting pitcher was able to pitch effectively.

The Orioles jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Ivan Nova in the first inning on an RBI single by J.J. Hardy and an RBI double by Adam Jones.

But the Yankees struck back against Jason Hammel in the fourth inning on a two-run double off the bat of Nick Swisher. They added another run in the fifth on a two-out solo home run by Curtis Granderson, his 12th of the season which was hit so hard it landed over the right-field  stands and out onto Eutaw Street.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, Nova was unable to hold the lead in the fifth. Nova walked Robert Andino, rookie Xavier Avery then tripled to right-field to score Andino. Then Hardy followed with a his ninth home run of the season to hand the Orioles a 5-3 lead.

But Hammel was unable to hold the lead either.

The Yankees loaded the bases on Hammel in the sixth on a Robinson Cano double and successive walks to Teixeira and Swisher, which ended Hammel’s night. Ayala induced a ground ball off the bat of Raul Ibanez but it was misplayed into an error by Chris Davis and two runs scored.

Hammel was charged with five runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks and he struck out three in five-plus innings. Hammel had previously not given up more than two runs in any of his previous six starts.

Nova left the game with one out in the sixth inning when he came up limping on his right foot after fielding a high bouncing ball off the bat of Wilson Betemit. With two out in the third inning, Nova was struck on the right foot on a ball hit by Nick Markakis but he was able to remain in the game.

With the victory, the Yankees improved their season record against the Orioles to 5-2 and the season record is now at 20-15. The Orioles dropped to 22-14.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Once again, the bullpen showed its superiority over the Orioles. In the final 3 2/3 innings Clay Rapada, Phelps, Boone Logan, Cory Wade and Soriano combined to shut out the Orioles the rest of the way on three hits and one walk and they struck out six batters. In contrast, the Orioles’ ineffective bullpen gave up three runs on four hits, three walks, two hit batters and struck out two in four innings. Ouch!
  • After his average dropped to .212 last Thursday when he was 0-for-3 against the Rays, Teixeira has a modest four-game hitting streak going with his 2-for-4 night against the Orioles. In that span, Teixeira is 6-for-16 (.375) with a six runs scored and two RBIs. He has raised his average to .231.
  • Granderson’s 12th home run ties him with Adam Dunn of the White Sox for second place in the American League in home runs. Josh Hamilton of Texas leads with 18. Granderson also contributed a sensational running catch to the deepest part of the ballpark on a shot off the bat of Hardy in the seventh inning.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Nova did not pitch effectively because he struggled with his command. He sureendered five runs on seven hits and three walks and struck out four in his 5 1/3 innings of work. Despite the fact he is 4-1, his ERA is now 5.44 and he will need to pitch much better going forward.
  • Weird stat of the game: Despite the fact the Yankees scored eight runs and collected 11 hits they were a miserable 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
  • Derek Jeter entered Sunday’s game with the Mariners having not hit into a double play this season. But he hit into two of them on Sunday and he hit into two more on Monday. So he now has hit into four double plays in his last eight at-bats. He also struck out with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and he is 0-for-5 this season with the bases loaded.

BOMBER BANTER

This game could be very costly for the Yankees. Nova left the game with a bruise and a sprain in his right ankle. X-rays of his right ankle taken after the game were negative but it is unclear if Nova will be able to make his next scheduled start. In addition, Rapada had to be helped in to the clubhouse because of a severe viral infection and Ibanez left the game in the ninth inning after being struck on the right elbow on a pitch from reliever Dana Eveland. Ibanez told reporters he thought he would able to play on Tuesday.  . . .  Manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Monday that reliever David Robertson has been unable to pitch for the past four days due to a soreness in his left ribcage. Robertson felt the discomfort after a he threw two-thirds of an inning in a non-save situation against the Rays on Thursday. He is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a chance to sweep the Orioles in this two-game road series on Tuesday.

The Yankees will have a good shot with CC Sabathia (5-0, 3.51 ERA) starting. Sabathia has won his last five starts and he is coming off his best start of the season. He threw eight innings of shutout baseball and struck out a season-high 10 in beating the Rays on Thursday. Sabathia also owns a 16-2 record and a 2.86 ERA in his career against the Orioles.

His opponent will be left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (3-0, 2.43 ERA). Chen held the Rangers to two runs in 7 2/3 innings in his last start. He has no record and 3.18 ERA after just one start against the Yankees this season.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by MY9.

 

Millwood Spoils Pettitte’s Grand Return To Yankees

GAME 34

MARINERS 6, YANKEES 2

On Sunday, a veteran pitcher who had pitched in World Series and had a lot of past glory in the major leagues came out of nowhere and won a game.

Unfortunately, it was not Andy Pettitte.

Kevin Millwood (1-4) pitched seven innings of one-run, three-hit baseball and two Mariners who entered the game hitting hitting under .208 hit two-run homers as Seattle spoiled the celebrated return of Pettitte with New York at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees did the 37-year-old journeyman Millwood a big favor by hitting into three double plays and going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Their only two runs in the game came on bases-loaded walks fifth and eighth innings.

Meanwhile, the 39-year-old Pettitte (0-1) matched Millwood zero for zero and had a not allowed a hit until there were two outs in the fourth.

Pettitte walked former Yankee mega-prospect Jesus Montero on a 3-2 pitch and Justin Smoak followed with a line-drive blast into the left-field bleachers for a two-run home run. Smoak entered the series hitting .173 but was 6-for-12 against the Yankees in the three games.

In the sixth inning, Pettitte began showing signs he was tiring after 573 days between his last start in the 2010 playoffs.

Dustin Ackley led off with a single to center and the mighty Casper Wells strolled to the plate. Wells entered the game batting .207 with no home runs and one RBI. He had a career total of 15 major-league home runs.

On a 2-2 offering from Pettitte, Wells swung late to protect the plate and he ended up hitting a ball that quickly was spinning foul into the right-field corner until it struck the foul pole. Wells could not placed it any better if he was standing five feet from the pole and thrown a ball against it.

The partisan Yankee crowd of 41,631 in attendance led out an audible gasp as the ball made an unmistakeable doink sound when it struck the pole.

Pettitte later that inning gave up three consecutive singles that loaded the bases. However, Pettitte induced Mike Carp into hitting a sharp grounder to Mark Teixeira at first . Teixeira stepped on first and fired home to catcher Russell Martin to nail a sliding Montero at home plate for an inning-ending double play.

Pettitte left after recording one out in the seventh inning. He gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks and struck out two. It was encouraging enough to Pettitte and manager Joe Girardi.

“It felt like I never left,” Pettitte said. “It’s frustrating, and obviously I’m disappointed in getting the loss. The guys gave me a chance to get right back in the game and get me a run, then I go back out and give up a two-run homer. You can’t do that. I got a little careless with a few pitches, and it cost me.”

“I thought he was pretty good,” said Girardi. “You look at the first five innings, and he really only gave up the one hard-hit ball and got a ton of ground-ball outs. He used pretty much all his pitches. And they hit some balls hard in the sixth, but to get us into the seventh inning, that’s pretty good.”

With the loss the Yankees fell to 19-15. The Mariners are 16-20.

 

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • For those who believed Pettitte would embarrass himself on Sunday they owe the left-hander a big apology. Pettitte showed upper 80s velocity and good movement on his pitches throughout his outing. Strength and stamina were going to be issues for him and it showed in the sixth. But this was an encouraging first step and the Yankees just might have an exceptional starting rotation this season. That is bad news to their American League East rivals.
  • The Yankees got runners on base (six hits and six walks) and they should have scored a lot more runs. Give Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez for collecting two hits apiece. Swisher is hitting .275 and Chavez is hitting .316 in a limited bench role.
  • Martin and Robinson Cano deserve credit for having the patience to draw bases-loaded walks. Martin got his from Millwood in the fifth and Cano got his from Charlie Furbush in the eighth. Too bad that was all the damage the Yankees could muster for Pettitte.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • With two on and one out in the third inning, Derek Jeter hit into a inning-ending double play.
  • With the bases loaded and one out after Martin had drawn his walk to bring the Yankees to within a run at 2-1, Jeter hit into another inning-ending double play.
  • With two on and one out in the eighth, Curtis Granderson struck out.
  • With the bases loaded and two out after Cano drew his walk to bring the Yankees to within 6-2, Teixeira struck out with the bases loaded.

Need I say more?

ON DECK

The Yankees open a short four-game road trip with a two-game series with the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (4-1, 5.02 ERA) will open the series for the Yankees. He is coming a two-run, seven inning victory over the Rays on Tuesday. He is 3-1 with a 3.96 ERA in his career against the Orioles.

The Orioles will start ailing right-hander Jason Hammel (4-1, 2.09 ERA), who is nursing a right knee injury. He was scratched from his start on Thursday and he hopes to be able to pitch on Monday. He is 1-3 with a 6.69 ERA against the Yankees in his career.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.

 

Pettitte Returns To Stare Down M’s And History

In the long and celebrated history of the New York Yankees, there have been only three legendary left-handed pitchers who have come out their minor-league system to attain greatness: Whitey Ford in the 50′s, Ron Guidry in the 70′s and Andrew Eugene Pettitte in the 90′s.

And it is Pettitte, who will be making history again on Sunday when he puts on his pinstriped No. 46 after 573 days in retirement. Yankee Stadium is sold out, the Bronx and the Tri-State area is abuzz and his Yankee teammates can’t wait to see him peer over his glove in that iconic stare into Russell Martin’s glove at about 1:07 p.m. before his first major-league pitch since the 2010 playoffs.

This would all seem like an exercise in futility for a 39-year-old pitcher who had been out of the game this long. After all, it does not happen often and it does not always end up successfully when it does happen.

But something about this time. Something about this man. Something about Pettitte has always been special.

For one thing, Pettitte left baseball after recording an 11-3 mark with a 3.28 ERA in 21 starts in 2010, a season that was truncated by a groin injury that sidelined Pettitte for over a month. But Pettitte recovered from that injury and he pitched twice in the 2010 playoffs and was 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in those games.

So it wasn’t like Andy left baseball with nothing left in the tank. In fact, Pettitte was running on some premium high-test when he decided being home with his family in Deer Park, TX, was more important to him than trying to get a 3-2 slider past Josh Hamilton.

When the competitive juices started flowing in Pettitte this winter and he got a chance to come to the Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa, FL, the lure of the game was just to much for him to resist. Once the announcement was made that Pettitte was coming back to the Yankees no one really laughed. It was only cheers and smiles.

That is because everyone who knows Pettitte knows that the harshest critic in his life has always been himself. If Andy did not believe he could do it he would not have wasted his or the Yankees’ time by even trying to fool them he could still pitch when he couldn’t. But Andy can still pitch and we will find out just how well on Sunday.

In four minor-league starts, Pettitte was 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 19 innings. But those are just numbers because Pettitte was not concerned with numbers. He was focused only on getting his arm and his legs in shape to pitch for the Yankees for the rest of the 2012 season.

So today Pettitte just takes one step of a long journey back. It will not end with a loss or a victory. It is just the beginning for him.

In the Mariners he is facing a roster almost completely made up of players who were in elementary school or in diapers when Pettitte broke into the majors in 1995. In the end, they will tell Pettitte just how much he has left in the game. It is, after all, the hitters who tell a pitcher when he it is time to hang up the cleats. Pettitte hopes that will not be for some time to come.

Yankee fans second that emotion.

ON DECK

Pettitte will face a familiar mound opponent on Sunday.

The Mariners are starting 37-year-old right-hander Kevin Millwood (0-4, 5.88 ERA). Millwood is coming off a game on Tuesday in which he gave up five runs on eight hits and five walks and struck out three in five innings in a loss to the Detroit Tigers. In the last 10 seasons, Millwood is 2-4 with a 4.74 ERA against the Yankees.

Of the Mariners on the roster, Pettitte has only faced Chone Figgins, Ichiro Suzuki and Michael Saunders because most of their players are so young. In the last 10 seasons, Pettitte is 7-8 with a 3.94 ERA against the M’s.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.

 

For Starters, Hughes Ends Up Besting Mariners

GAME 33

YANKEES 6, MARINERS 2

A few weeks ago it looked like Phil Hughes was headed to the bullpen after he started the season 1-4 with a 7.48 ERA. On Saturday, Hughes looked like he actually belonged in the rotation all along and there is no doubt he is going to stay there for a long time.

Hughes pitched 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball and he got two RBIs apiece from Raul Ibanez and Jayson Nix as New York defeated Seattle at Yankee Stadium for their fifth victory in their last six games.

Hughes (3-4) carried a shutout into the seventh inning until Mike Carp belted a two-out solo home run to center-field. Hughes left with two out in the eighth having given up six hits and one walk and struck out four batters for his second straight victory.

Hughes also continued a trend the rotation started at the beginning of the six-game homestand on Tuesday. The starters since Tuesday are 4-0 with a 1.31 ERA.

Former Yankee Hector Noesi (2-4) gave up five runs on six hits and struck out four over seven innings to take the loss. But he actually pitched much better than his line indicates. He was undone by pair of two-out doubles in the second inning and a pair of home runs.

With Mark Teixiera on second with a double and two outs, Ibanez looped an opposite-field double into the left-field corner to score Teixeira. Russell Martin, who was one for his last 16 at-bats, followed with a double off the wall at the 408-foot mark in center-field to score Ibanez.

Nix then completed the four-run explosion with an opposite-field fly ball into right that landed in the first row of the bleachers for Nix’s first home run with the Yankees.

On Friday, Nix learned that when Eric Chavez was activated from the seven-day disabled list it would be Eduardo Nunez sent to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre and not him. Manager Joe Girardi then decided to start Nix at shortstop on Saturday in order to give Derek Jeter a rest from the field by utilizing him as the designated hitter.

Ibanez continued his hot hitting in the fourth inning when he slammed a high and outside 3-2 fastball into the monuments in center-field for his seventh home run of the season.

Ibanez hit a three-run home run off Mariners ace Felix Hernandez on Friday that led the Yankees to a victory by the same 6-2 score. Since May 5, Ibanez is 9-for-22 (.409) with four home runs and nine RBIs.

Boone Logan pitched the final 1 1/3 innings and he picked up his second major league save – his first since he was pitching for the Chicago White Sox as a rookie in 2006. Logan, however, did give up a run in the ninth inning when Carp followed a one-out single by Kyle Seager with a hit that originally was ruled a home run to right. but the umpires used television replays to reverse the call to a double that scored Seager.

Logan struck out the next two batters to preserve the victory for Hughes and the Yankees.

With the victory, the Yankees improved to 19-14. The Mariners dipped to 15-20.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Hughes has managed to remake himself as a starter. He has basically junked his cutter and he is using his change-up more sparingly, which means he using his fastball and curve more. The results in his last two starts show it is working. Hughes has given up four runs on 12 hits and two walks and he has struck out 11 in 14 1/3 innings over his last two starts. That is an ERA of 2.51 and a WHIP of  0.98.
  • Ibanez could not be any hotter if he poured gasoline over himself and lit a match. From primarily the seventh spot in the batting order Ibanez is hitting .282 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs. He also is making life miserable for good right-handers like James Shields and Hernandez, who are looking for a soft spot in the Yankees’ batting order and they are not finding it in Ibanez.
  • Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an opposite-field RBI single off reliever Tom Wilhelmsen in the eighth inning to give the Yankees a 6-1 lead. Cano is hitting .429 over that span.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Curtis Granderson had a bad day at the office. He was 0-for-4 with two weak infield rollers to first and two strikeouts. Though Granderson is hitting .264 with 11 home runs and  20 RBIs, he also has struck out a team-leading 37 times in 129 at-bats. That is a pace just over one out of every four at-bats.
  • Cano had an uncharacteristically bad moment in the field in the third inning. With one out and Justin Smoak on first, Munenori Kawasaki lofted a fly ball in shallow right. Cano tracked the ball and then stopped at the last moment, allowing the ball to drop a few feet behind him. Right-fielder Nick Swisher, however, bailed Cano out with a quick throw to second that beat Smoak to the bag for a rare 9-4 fielder’s choice putout.
  • Alex Rodriguez also had a bad day at the plate. He was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. It snapped his five-game hitting streak and lowered his season average to .287. A-Rod came into the contest hitting .406 in his previous nine games.

BOMBER BANTER

On Saturday, the Yankees honored legendary catcher Yogi Berra on his 87th birthday with a ceremony before the game. Berra was presented with a cake and former Yankee left-hander Ron Guidry drove Berra in a cart around the stadium so he could be saluted by the 43,954 people in attendance.  . . .  Though it was not much of a secret, Girardi announced on Saturday that rookie David Phelps would return to the bullpen as a long reliever. Phelps was 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA in his two starts. But he did not make it out of the fifth inning in either appearance.  . . .  The Yankees announced on Saturday they they have claimed left-handed reliever Justin Thomas off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. Thomas has posted a 7.71 ERA in 4 2/3 innings with the Red Sox. He was designated for assignment on Thursday. The Yankees will send Thomas, 28, to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

ON DECK

Because of the significance of Sunday’s game, this regular blog feature will be expanded into a complete report which will follow shortly.

 

Ibanez’s Mighty Clout Topples Seattle’s King Felix

GAME 32

YANKEES 6, MARINERS 2

From the dawn of time this maxim has always held true: No matter how powerful the king, it is the strength of the opposing foot soldier who can dethrone him. On Friday night, that story played out in front of a paid crowd of 37,886 at Yankee Stadium.

Raul Ibanez, a loyal foot soldier if there ever was one, blasted a first-pitch fastball from “King Felix” Hernandez and drove the ball deep into the seats in right-center for a three-run home run in the sixth inning that gave New York a come-from-behind 6-2 victory over Seattle.

Ibanez’s mighty blow for the “Kingdom in the Bronx” supported a good outing from 37-year-old right-hander Hiroki Kuroda as the Yankees have now won five of their last six games.

Kuroda (3-4) gave up a leadoff solo home run to Dustin Ackley in the first inning and another solo home run to former Yankee mega-prospect Jesus Montero in the top of the sixth that gave the Mariners a 2-1 lead. Otherwise, Kuroda pitched brilliantly with runners on base.

He gave up only the two runs on six hits and three walks and he struck out two over seven innings.

The Yankees, however, wore down Hernandez gradually.

Hernandez (3-2) entered the game with a 3-0 record at the new Yankee Stadium and on a steak of 18 consecutive starts in which he had not allowed a first-inning run – the longest current streak in the majors. But the Yankees took care of that streak when Curtis Granderson stroked a one-out single, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Robinson Cano, who was 4-for-4 on the night.

After Montero untied it in the top of the sixth, the Yankees got busy wearing down Hernandez bottom of the frame.

Alex Rodriguez drew a leadoff walk and Cano followed with another single to right. After two were out in the inning, Ibanez stepped to the plate and he was looking for first-pitch fastball from Hernandez.

He got it and drove the pitch deep into the bleachers in right-center to give the Yankees their first lead of the game, which held up with the help of the bullpen.

Clay Rapada, Cory Wade, Boone Logan and David Robertson combined to pitch the final two innings and they retired the Mariners on just one infield single and struck out two.

Pinch-hitter Andrew Jones gave the Yankees their final margin with a two-run home run off Mariners reliever Steve Delabar in the bottom of the eighth.

Hernandez was charged with four runs on 11 hits and two walks and he struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings.

With the victory, the Yankees improved to 18-14. The Mariners fell to 15-19.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Though he did give up a pair of solo homers, Kuroda did an excellent job keeping the Mariners from scoring with runners in scoring position. The key at-bat of the game came with two out and the bases loaded with Mariners in the fifth inning and fellow Kuroda countryman Ichiro Suzuki at the plate. Kuroda was able to induce Suzuki to hit a grounder to Rodriguez at third and Rodriguez stepped on third to end the inning without the Mariners scoring a run.
  • Cano is blazing hot now with his 4-for-4 night. He has a nine-game hitting streak and is 16-for-36 (.444) in that span with two home runs and eight RBIs. Cano has raised his batting average from .255 at the start of the streak to .308.
  • Ibanez followed up his two-homer, three-RBI game against James Shields and the Rays on Tuesday with this huge three-run home run against Hernandez on Friday. Ibanez is hitting .268 with six home runs and 19 RBIs on the season.
  • Though he is not hitting much for power, Rodriguez is getting on  base with regularity lately. He was 2-for-3 with a walk in the game and he is now hitting .361 in his last 10 games. A-Rod has raised his season average to .297 although he has only five home runs and 14 RBIs.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • I hate to keep beating a dead horse but the only player who played in Friday’s game and got an at-bat but did not get a hit was Russell Martin. The veteran catcher was 0-for-4 and his batting average has now dipped to .179. After going 3-for-4 with a home run on Saturday against Kansas City, Martin is 1-for-16 (.063).
  • A combination of a bad decision by third-base coach Rob Thomson and some hesitation before rounding third base by Rodriguez cost the Yankees a run in the fourth inning. Rodriguez was on first and Cano was on second when Mark Teixeira looped a single to shallow left. Thomson chose to send Rodriguez. Rodriguez slowed up  just before reaching third thinking Thomson would hold him. But he then tried to speed up when he saw Thomson waving him in. Rodriguez was cut down easily by left-fielder Mike Carp’s throw to Montero at the plate.
  • Nick Swisher did single to lead off the eighth but his previous three at-bats were horrible. In the second, Swisher flew out to left with a runner at first and no outs. In the fourth, he bounced out to Hernandez with two on and one out. In the sixth, he struck out looking with Rodriguez on third and Teixeira at first and one out. Ibanez, however, did bail him out with his home run after the strikeout.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees, as expected, activated Eric Chavez on Friday when he was deemed recovered from his concussion by Major League Baseball. However, in a surprise move, the Yankees elected to send Eduardo Nunez to Triple-A Sranton/Wilkes-Barre and kept utilityman Jayson Nix on the roster. Nunez was batting .294 with no home runs, five RBIs and six stolen bases in 51 at-bats as a backup infielder. But the reason Nunez is being sent down had to do with his fielding. Nunez has committed a team-leading four errors this season, including two errors while playing at third base that led to two unearned runs scored off CC Sabathia by the Rays on Thursday. Nunez was replaced in the field in the sixth inning by Nix. Last season, Nunez led the Yankees in errors with 20 despite playing only half the innings the regulars played. Manager Joe Girardi said the Yankees might have hurt Nunez by asking him to play too many positions. Girardi said Nunez will play most of the time at shortstop at Scranton and he occasionally will play second base.  The biggest loss for the Yankees is the speed Nunez provides. With Brett Gardner out another two to four weeks with a strained right elbow, Granderson is the only true base-stealer the Yankees have in the lineup.

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their three-game series with the Mariners on Saturday.

The Yankees will start 25-year-old right-hander Phil Hughes (2-4, 6.67 ERA), who is coming off his best two starts of the season. On Sunday, Hughes held the Royals to three runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings. He is 3-2 with a 3.21 ERA in his career against the Mariners.

The Yankees also will see another old friend in a Mariners’ uniform on Saturday in right-hander Hector Noesi (2-3, 6.30 ERA). Noesi, along with Montero, were traded to the Yankees this winter in return for 23-year-old right-hander Michael Pineda and 19-year-old right-hander Jose Campos, who both are currently on the disabled list with arm problems. Noesi is coming off a one-run, four-hit outing of seven innings in a victory over the Twins.

Game-time will be 4:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.

 

Rays Pay Price As Sabathia Notches 5th Straight

GAME 31

YANKEES 5, RAYS 3

Just like the swallows who return to San Juan Capistrano every year and the upstream swim of the salmon, you can pretty much set your clock about this time every season when CC Sabathia gets on a roll.

Sabathia (5-0) gave up two runs (neither of them earned) on seven hits and one walk and he struck out a season-high 10 in eight strong innings on Thursday as he outdueled David Price and defeated Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium for his fifth straight victory.

With the victory, the Yankees won the three-game series with the Rays.

Price (5-2), who was 3-0 in his five previous matchups against Sabathia, took the loss this time, giving up five runs on 11 hits and three walks and striking out four in seven innings.

The key blows for the Yankees were one-out RBI single by Chris Stewart in the second inning that tied the score at 2-2 and a two-run home run by Robinson Cano in the fifth inning that put the Yankees ahead of the Rays to stay.

Rafael Soriano, who was summoned to pitch the ninth inning because closer David Robertson was unavailable to pitch, gave up a run but still managed to get credit his first save of the season.

Curtis Granderson also homered for the Yankees. His solo shot to lead off the second inning was his 11th of the season.

The Rays scored a pair of unearned runs in each of the first two innings aided by errors by Eduardo Nunez.

With two out and runners on first and second, Nunez mishandled a bouncer off the bat of Brandon Guyer that loaded the bases and Carlos Pena followed with an RBI single but Nick Swisher was able to cut down Jeff Keppinger trying to score at home plate to end the inning.

In the second inning, Nunez fielded an easy grounder off the bat of Chris Gimenez but tossed the potential double-play relay to Robinson Cano into right-field that allowed Elliot Johnson to slide safely into second. Johnson later scored on a two-out single by Sean Rodriguez.

With the victory the Yankees improved to 17-14. The Rays fell to 20-12.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Sabathia is on a full-fledged roll now. In his last five starts, he has pitched 39 1/3 innings and has given up just 11 runs on 29 hits and five walks and he has struck out 38 batters. That is an ERA of 2.52 and a WHIP of  0.86 in that span. Over the final six innings, Sabathia held the Rays to no runs on just three singles.
  • Cano is back to his old self and it shows. He was 3-for-4 in the game with two singles and his two-run home run. Cano now has an eight-game hitting streak and during that span he is 12-for-32 (.375) with two home runs and seven RBIs. He has raised his season average to .286. Opposing pitchers, beware!
  • Stewart will never be compared to Matt Wieters or  Joe Mauer at the plate, but his RBI single tied the game and set the stage for the Yankees ability to take the lead in the fifth. Stewart is hitting just .240 and he plays largely because of his defense. But he has four big RBIs for the Yankees this season.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • I think even manager Joe Girardi has had enough of “Eduardo Scissorhands” Nunez and his careless errors. Nunez misplayed Guyer’s grounder because he was rushing to step on third before he even had the ball. The errant throw in the second inning was just carelessness. Nunez led the Yankees in errors last season with 20 despite the fact he played only half the time. He leads the team with six errors this season and Girardi actually put Jayson Nix in at third in the SIXTH inning as a defensive replacement for Nunez.
  • Though he did draw a walk in the fifth, Mark Teixeira was 0-for-3 in the game and his season average dipped to .212. He was hitting .288 on April 23 but since then he is 8-for-59 (.136) with a home run and six RBIs. I think we have seen the final transformation of Teixiera into what Jason Giambi was in 2008 when he hit 32 home runs, drove in 96 runs and hit .247.
  • Derek Jeter took a rare 0-for-4 and he did not get a ball out of the infield. Jeter’s batting average dipped to .376. But he can be forgiven the mini-slump because he has been carrying the team for most of the season with his bat.

BOMBER BANTER

Brett Gardner has suffered a setback in his attempt to come back from a right elbow strain. Girardi told reporters that another MRI exam indicated that Gardner has a further strain of a muscle in his elbow and he will miss two to four more weeks of action. Gardner has been sidelined since he injured the elbow making a diving catch on April 18. He was on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday when he reported a lingering pain in his elbow after the game. Girardi said Gardner will not swing a bat for 10 days and then will be re-evaluated.  . . .  Eric Chavez was not activated from the seven-day disabled list on Thursday as expected because he has not been cleared by Major League Baseball. League officials were concerned about one aspect of Chavez’s concussion test. But Chavez participated in a second test and he hopes to be cleared to play soon.

ON DECK

The Yankees will open a three-game home weekend series with the Seattle Mariners on Friday.

Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (2-4, 3.75 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Kuroda is coming off a disappointing start in which he gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings on Saturday to the Kansas City Royals. He is 0-1 with a 5.68 ERA in his career against the Mariners.

Right-hander Felix Hernandez (3-1, 1.89 ERA) will get the start for the Mariners. He is coming off a seven-inning, one-hit shutout victory over the Minnesota Twins. He is 6-4 with a 3.29 ERA in his career against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.

 

Robertson’s ‘Houdini Act’ Fails In Rays Encore

GAME 30

RAYS 4, YANKEES 1

B.J. Upton lofted a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning and Matt Joyce followed with a three-run home run off new closer David Robertson as Tampa Bay rallied past New York at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.

The Yankees held a 1-0 lead from the first inning but No. 8 hitter Sean Rodriguez and pinch-hitter Brandon Allen greeted Robertson with first-pitch singles to open the ninth. Robertson then walked Ben Zobrist to the load the bases. After Robertson fanned Carlos Pena looking Upton hit a flyball to right that scored Rodriguez with the tying run.

Joyce then hit an 0-2 pitch into the right-field seats to give the Rays a 4-1 lead.

Reliever Fernando Rodney (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory. Robertson (o-1) blew his first save of the season and took the loss.

The Yankees season record is now 16-14. The Rays are 20-11.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • The Yankees quartet of starter David Phelps and relievers Boone Logan, Cory Wade and Rafael Soriano pitched eight scoreless innings, giving up five hits and four walks and striking out six. The Rays stranded a total of 10 base-runners and left the bases loaded without scoring in the first and fifth innings. Theses pitchers deserved a better fate.
  • Robinson Cano is showing definite signs of coming around with the bat of late. He was 2-for-4 and drove in the Yankees’ only run of the game when he followed Derek Jeter’s leadoff single in the first with a two-out, opposite-field double off the left-field wall that scored Jeter. Cano has at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games and is batting .308 over that span.
  • Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-4 in the game and even stole third base the sixth inning for his third steal of the season. Rodriguez is now hitting .279 on the season.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Robertson proved he was human on Wednesday. The four runs he gave up broke a string of 26 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball over 13 appearances dating back to last season. Though he blew the save, Mariano Rivera would tell him that in order to succeed as a closer you have learn how to fail. Robertson learned that lesson pretty well on Wednesday.
  • The offense after the first inning was horrific. They were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. If you want to look at one culprit, look no further than Mark Teixeira. Teixeira is simply running out excuses. It is May and he was 0-for-4 on Wednesday and it dragged his batting average down to .217. He did not get a ball out of the infield, he struck out looking and he grounded into an inning-ending double play in the eighth.
  • Curtis Granderson was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the game. In 117 at-bats this season, Gramderson has struck out 33 times, a rate just a bit over one out of every four at-bats.

BOMBER BANTER

Rivera was hospitalized this week after doctors examining his torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee discovered a blood clot in his right calf. Rivera was given blood thinners to dissolve the clot and the condition is not expected to prevent Rivera from pitching for the Yankees next season. Rivera told reporters on Wednesday that he will have surgery to repair his knee when the swelling subsides and the knee strengthens.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a chance to win the three-game series on Thursday against the Rays.

CC Sabathia (4-0, 4.15 ERA) will start for the Yankees, having won his his last four decisions. Sabathia went a strong eight innings to defeat the Kansas City Royals last Friday. He is 9-7 with a 3.25 ERA in his career against the Rays.

Left-hander David Price (5-1, 2.35 ERA) will pitch for the Rays. He allowed one run and struck out 12 in eight innings to beat the Oakland Athletics last Friday. He is 5-2 with a 3.96 ERA in 14 career starts against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.

 

Robertson’s Dramatic Punchout Saves Nova’s Win

GAME 29

YANKEES 5, RAYS 3

Harry Houdini is known as the greatest escape artist of all time and Mariano Rivera is regarded as the greatest closer in the history of baseball.

On Tuesday night, David Robertson paid homage to them both by escaping a bases-loaded, two-out jam to strike out Carlos Pena looking to record his first save since Rivera sustained a season-ending right knee injury last week in Kansas City.

Meanwhile, Ivan Nova may have had his 15-game winning streak snapped in his last outing but Rual Ibanez’s two home runs and three RBIs and Curtis Granderson’s solo shot gave him the offense he needed to start another one as New York held on to defeat Tampa Bay on a rainy and cool night at Yankee Stadium.

Nova (4-1) pitched his best game of the season, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out eight batters over seven innings.

The Yankees were able to pin the first loss of the season on Rays right-hander James Shields (5-1). Shields limited the Yankees to three runs on four hits and three walks and he struck out four in six innings of work. However, two of the hits left the yard.

Ibanez gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning with a two-out, two-run home run to right-field right after Robinson Cano was cut down at home plate trying to score on a Nick Swisher grounder to second baseman Will Rhymes. Ibanez has only three hits in 46 at-bats career against Shields and two of them have been home runs.

Granderson victimized Shields in the following frame with a two-out blast into the fourth row of the right-field bleachers. It was Granderson’s 10th home run of the season, which leads the team.

The Rays clawed back to within a run on a pair of solo home runs – one from Jose Molina in the sixth and another from Luke Scott in the seventh.

However, Ibanez led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a blast off reliever Burke Badenhop that struck high off the foul pole in right-field.

The Rays got that run back in the eighth when Ben Zobrist led off the inning with a triple and he later scored on a wild pitch from reliever Rafael Soriano.

The Yankees reclaimed their two-run edge in the bottom of the inning when Mark Teixeira stroked a one-out double into the corner in right-field to score Alex Rodriguez, which set up the dramatic ninth inning.

With one out, Robertson walked Rhymes and Sean Rodriguez followed with a single in the hole to left. Robertson was able to strike out pinch-hitter Brandon Allen swinging but he walked Zobrist tio load the bases.

With intermittent rain showers having held down the paid crowd of 37,086 to about half of that total, most of them were on their feet as Robertson dueled Pena with the game on the line.

After getting two quick strikes, Robertson missed with his next two offerings. But, the former setup man now closer was able to place a 94 mile-per-hour fastball perfectly on the outside corner that caught Pena looking and ended the game.

It was the fourth career save for Robertson and his first of the season.

With the victory, the Yankees improved to 16-13 on the season and they gained a game on the first-place race in the American League East. The Rays are 19-11.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Nova bounced back nicely after two consecutive poor outings in which he gave up 11 runs on 20 hits and seven walks in 11 2/3 innings. The key was Nova had command of his fastball, curveball and slider and it translated into eight strikeouts, which tied his previous season high against the Angels on April 15.
  • Ibanez is proving to be a very good free-agent signing for the Yankees. It was Ibanez’s 15th career multi-homer game and his first with New York. After hitting .241 in April, Ibanez is hitting .353 in May. He now has five home runs and 16 RBIs on the season.
  • Robertson’s high-wire act in the ninth may have looked like nerves but Yankee fans are well aware that Robertson is prone to issuing his share of walks. Robertson entered the game with a 0.00 ERA and he had struck out the last eight batters he faced and 10 of the last 11. He left the mound with a 0.00 ERA and he now has 23 strikeouts in 13 innings this season. He has not been scored upon in his last 26 1/3 innings over 12 appearances dating back to last September.
  • Granderson’s home run puts him second in the American League with 10. That would have tied Josh Hamilton of the Rangers but he was busy hitting four home runs in a game on Tuesday against the Orioles.

HOLEY-MOLELY, FOLEY: By the way, the Yankees owe a big thank you to Rays third-base coach Tom Foley. In the seventh inning, Scott had just brought the Rays to within a run of the Yankees with his one-out solo home run. Nova walked Jeff Keppinger and then surrendered a double to Rhymes that rolled into the corner down the right-field line. Foley could have sent Keppinger home but he elected to play it safe and held him. Sean Rodriguez then lofted a fly ball midway into right-field and down the line. Swisher made the catch and fired the ball on the fly – but off to the left of home plate – to catcher Russell Martin. Again, Foley chose not to risk sending Keppinger. But the prudent approach backfired when Nova fanned Molina swinging on an 0-2 pitch and the Rays were thwarted.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Martin is really struggling at the plate. He was one of two Yankee starters who did not have a hit (Swisher was 0-for-4) and his 0-for-3 night dropped his season average to a pathetic .184. Martin’s exceptional defense is valuable in and of itself, however, it would be nice of he started hitting more consistently.
  • Soriano looked a bit shaky in his new eighth-inning role. The leadoff triple to Zobrist was bad enough but he compounded the problem by unleashing a wild pitch with two outs to allow the Rays to draw to within a run. Soriano ended the frame by striking out the side but it was too late.
  • Swisher came up in the fourth and eighth innings with a runner on third and only one out. In both cases he failed to get the runner in. In the fourth, he bounced a ball to Rhymes that ended up with Cano being thrown out. In the eighth, he bounced a ball to Pena at first and the runner (Teixeira) was unable to score.

BOMBER BANTER

It’s official! Andy Pettitte will be activated on Sunday and he will make the first start of 2012 comeback against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. ”I think everybody is in agreement that he’s not really going to benefit from any more time down below,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters on Tuesday. Manager Joe Girardi said the club is not willing to discuss who will be dropped from the rotation in favor of Pettitte.  . . .  No date has been set for the season-ending right knee surgery for Rivera. Rivera met with team physician Chris Ahmad as well as Dr. Russell Warren and Dr. David Altchek on Monday, all of whom concurred with the diagnosis of a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus. There also was a complication found during the examination but the Yankees are not commenting on it. Cashman only said it would not prevent Rivera from pitching in 2013.  . . .  Brett Gardner played in a game at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday as part of rehab assignment. Gardner (strained right elbow) hopes to be ready to be activated from the disabled list on Thursday.

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their three-game home series against the Rays on Wednesday.

Rookie right-hander David Phelps (0-1, 3.74 ERA) will make his second start of the season for the Yankees. Phelps gave up only two runs on six hits against the Royals last Thursday. But a high pitch count limited him to only four innings and he took the loss. Phelps has no record against the Rays.

The Rays will counter with right-hander Jeff Niemann (2-3, 4.05 ERA). Niemann gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five against the Mariners last Thursday to win his second game of the season. Niemann is 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA in his career against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by ESPN and locally by the YES Network.

 

Hughes, Yankees Give Upstart KC The Royal Flush

GAME 28

YANKEES 10, ROYALS 4

Once again the Yankees witnessed a starting pitcher who failed to get past the third inning and surrendered seven runs. But this time it wasn’t a Yankee starter.

Phil Hughes pitched into the seventh inning and New York pounded Kansas City’s Luke Hochevar for six runs in the third inning – punctuated by a grand-slam home run from Robinson Cano – as the Yankees salvaged a split of a four-game road series on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO.

Hughes (2-4) gave up three runs on six hits and one walk and struck seven in 6 2/3 innings in an effort that may yet keep him in the starting rotation.

Hochevar (2-3), a former No. 1 draft pick in 2006, gave up seven runs on seven hits and one walk and he lasted only 2 1/3 innings.

The Yankees, who have been struggling to score runs for the past six games, broke out in a big way in the third inning with the score knotted at 1-1.

Dewayne Wise, making only his second start for the Yankees, opened the frame with a single and Derek Jeter followed it up with a bunt single. Curtis Granderson then smacked an RBI single into right-field to score Wise and it gave the Yankees a lead they would never relinquish the rest of the afternoon.

Hochevar then compounded his problems by hitting Alex Rodriguez on the left elbow with a pitch, which loaded the bases and Cano made him pay for it dearly.

Cano, who entered the game with an uncharacteristic .255 average with a home run and four RBIs, doubled his home run and RBI total by walloping a 2-1 change-up into the pavilion deep in right-center.

One out later, Nick Swisher, who was returning to the lineup for the first time since he left a game on April 29 with a strained left hamstring, blasted a 1-2 Hochevar fastball deep in the bleachers down the right-field line. Hochevar’s day was done and the Royals were left stunned looking up out of an early 7-1 hole.

The Royals rallied to score single runs in the fifth and seventh innings but Rodriguez put the game out of reach for good with a three-run blast of his own in the eighth inning off Royals reliever Tommy Hottovy.

With the victory, the Yankees improved their season record to 15-13. The Royals dropped to 9-18.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • It was good to see Hughes pitch a solid game and command his fastball to earn seven strikeouts. Pitch count is still an issue because Hughes threw 20 or more pitches in three of the first four innings. But Hughes did retire 14 of the 18 batters he faced after getting the 7-1 lead as he started the bottom of the third inning. This outing is something Hughes can build upon.
  • Cano was 2-for-5 and his home run was the key blow of the game. Yankee fans had to scratching their heads wondering what was going on with one of the best pure hitters in the game struggling with only one home run and four RBIs on May 6. It is hard to say if the slump is over but Cano’s bat is very important to the offense and the team’s overall success.
  • Rodriguez’s home run was his fifth of the season and his first since April 27 in a game against the Tigers. His three RBIs were his first RBIs since April 29 in a game also against the Tigers. The Yankees have gone through a major offensive slump largely due to slow starts by Cano, Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira and injuries to Swisher and Brett Gardner.
  • All Jeter did was go 2-for-3 with two walks and he scored two runs. It was just another day at the office for “The Captain.” Jeter’s batting average is .397, which is the best in the major leagues.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Russell Martin was 3-for-4 and his solo homer provided the Yankees’ only offense on Saturday. On Sunday, Martin was 0-for-5, including two infield groundouts, hitting into a double play and he was called out on strikes in his final at-bat. His average is at .192 and the Yankees could use consistent offense from him.

BOMBER BANTER

Swisher cleared all of the medical hurdles in order to return to the lineup as the designated hitter on Sunday. He homered in his second at-bat and the home run was his seventh of the season. Swisher hopes to be able to return to right-field when the Yankees open their homestand on Tuesday.  . . . Meanwhile, Gardner tested his ailing right elbow in the batting cage at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday and he will head out to play in two or three minor-league rehab games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before being activated from the 15-day disabled list.  . . .  Eric Chavez, who is on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion is expected to be activated on Thursday, which is the first day he would be eligible to return to action.  . . .  In his fourth minor-league rehab start on Sunday, Andy Pettitte gave up five runs (three earned) on eight hits over five innings for Scranton in a loss to Pawtucket. Pettitte, 39, admitted he did not pitch as well as he would have liked but he said he feels ready to join the Yankees immediately. However, general manager Brian Cashman, who was not in attendance at the game, will make the determination if Pettitte requires another start or not.

ON DECK

The wounded and struggling Yankees get a well-deserved day off on Monday to collect their thoughts before opening a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (3-1, 5.58 ERA) will open the series for the Yankees. Nova had his 15-game winning streak that dated back to June of last year snapped in a game against the Orioles on Wednesday. Nova gave up five runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings. He is 2-0 with a 3.47 ERA in his career against the Rays.

The Rays will start right-hander James Shields (5-0, 3.05 ERA). Shields struck out 11 in 6 innings for a victory against the Mariners on Wednesday. Shields is 5-11 with a 4.39 ERA against the Yankees in his career.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.

 

Yankees Still Showing Nothing In ‘Show Me’ State

GAME 27

ROYALS 5, YANKEES 1

The Yankees made Felipe Paulino look like Roy Halladay in throwing six shutout innings just coming off the disabled list and Billy Butler drove in three runs as Kansas City defeated a punchless, lifeless New York team on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO.

Paulino (1-0) gave up four hits, walked two and struck out six.

Meanwhile, Hiroki Kuroda (2-4) surrendered three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks and he fanned two in 4 1/3 innings.

Alex Gordon tied a career high with four hits for the Royals.

The Yankees fell to 14-13 and the Royals are 9-17.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • The Yankees managed only eight hits in the game and Russell Martin collected three of them. He also provided the Yankees’ lone run of the game with a solo home run in the seventh inning off Royals reliever Jose Mijares for his third home run of the season. Coming into the game, Martin had the lowest batting average among the regulars but he appears to be coming out of his long slump.
  • Curtis Granderson had a pair of doubles in the game and was 2-for-4. It is feast of famine with Granderson as he struck out swinging in his other two at-bats. But Granderson has raised his batting average to .279.
  • Freddy Garcia pitched two scoreless innings of relief and he has now thrown four consecutive innings of shutout baseball and lowered his season ERA to 9.68. Garcia is likely to remain the bullpen for the time being but he could get another shot to start again if he can continue to throw up some zeroes.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Kuroda has been maddeningly inconsistent in his first six starts, In his three good starts, he is 2-1 with a 1.25 ERA.In his three bad starts, he is 0-3 and has given up 15 runs (12 earned) on 24 hits and seven walks in 14 1/3 innings. That is an ERA of 7.54 and a WHIP of 2.16. As the No. 2 starter, Kuroda has to show more consistency.
  • Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira combined to go 1-for-11 in the game and 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. With no punch in the middle of the order the Yankees’ offense is not producing runs and these three guys have a lot to do with the drought.
  • The bullpen kind of sprung a leak at a bad time. Cody Eppley and Boone Logan combined to give up two key runs in the sixth inning. The runs were charged to Eppley but Logan allowed a sacrifice fly to Jarrod Dyson and an RBI double to Gordon that made the score 5-0.

ON DECK

The Yankees will look to earn a split of the series with the Royals on Sunday.

Phil Hughes (1-4, 7.48 ERA) is coming off his best start of the season, but it was a loss to the Orioles because the he did not get any run support. He is 2-1 with a 6.78 ERA against the Royals in his career.

Hughes will be opposed by struggling right-hander Luke Hochevar (2-2, 7.36 ERA). Hochevar has given up a total of 12 runs in the first inning alone in his two losses. He is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 2:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by TBS and locally by the YES Network.

 

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