Yankees - Blue Jays Preview

The Yankees are going into this series against the Blue Jays pretty confident. The Yanks have won eight straight home games against Toronto. The Blue Jays are struggling, to say the least. They have lost seven straight and are in last place in the AL East.

New York (74-53) has outscored Toronto 48-20 with a 13-4 edge in homers during this run at home in the series. The Blue Jays (56-70) are losers of seven straight for the first time since a nine-game skid from May 19-27, 2009, and 14 games under .500 for the first time since Sept. 25, 2009.

The pitching matchup for Monday's game is Phelps (3-4, 2.69 ERA) against Alvarez (7-11,4.84 ERA). Phelps is starting in place of Ivan Nova, who was placed on the 15 day DL list due to shoulder inflammation. Alvarez is 0-0 with a 5.25 ERA in two career starts against the Yankees. It will be interesting to see the matchup between Alvarez and Curtis Granderson who is for 3 for 5 against him. Tomorrow's probable starters are Hughes vs. Happ.

Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher have been sparking the Yankee offense recently. Swisher capped a strong weekend with three hits in a 4-2 victory Sunday at Cleveland. He went 7 for 11 as the Yankees took two out of three games. Swisher is hitting .378 over his last 19 games.

The Blue Jays are still without Jose Bautista, who re-injured the wrist that he was originally placed on the DL for. Adam Lind, who was not scheduled to return until next week due to a back injury, will be back in the lineup since July 25th.

The Yankees are going in as the favorite due to the record they have against the Blue Jays and how they have been performing but they do need to do certain things to win this home stand. First, Phelps needs to have a good game. He needs to deliver and keep the threatening Blue Jays offense to a minimum. Second, the Yanks need to continue to hit and run the bases as well as they have been doing. They have been producing more hits and RBI's and not only relying on home runs. Of course, home runs don't hurt! With both of those things, their defense also has to be on target. A game with good offense and pitching, but no defense and a lot of errors can certainly hurt them, and any other team. As always, go Yanks!

A Lot on the Line

With each game becoming more and more important, each team is striving to win more to ensure a spot in the playoffs. The Yankees are in first place in the AL East with a 73-52 record, but the Rays and Orioles are right behind them. The Rays were on a winning streak but the Oakland A's just beat them, by the skin of their teeth last night in a 5-4 win. Tampa Bay is now 3.5 games behind the Yankees, and the Orioles are 5 games behind. The closest the Rays were was earlier in the week when they were two games behind the Yankees (when they got swept by the White Sox). It is more important now than ever for the Yankees to hold onto their lead, and increase it when they can. CC Sabathia was activated from the DL last night and started against the Indians. He held them to one run and the Yankees won 3-1. In a loss to the White Sox, Ivan Nova injured his shoulder and was placed on the 15 day DL due to inflammation in his rotator cuff. Other than that, the Yanks have not seen any really bad injuries as of late that would prohibit them from performing their best. Considering who the Yankees lost for a long period of time, including the all time great closer, Rivera, they have performed very well. The Yanks have lost four of their great players, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner, and most importantly, their closer, Mariano Rivera, but with all the great players down, the Yankees have gotten the job done. Their record is superb, their offense has been great, their pitching has been stable, and the guys that have stepped up in the absence of ARod and Brett Gardner have been awesome. Both Pettitte, who fractured his left fibula, played catch on Friday and had no ill feeling and ARod, who fractured his left fibula, will be evaluated on Monday. An October return is possible, depending on what the doctors say on Monday.

Let's just talk about Jeter the Great for a second! In the past 27 games, since July 25th, his batting average is .381 (45 for 118) with six home runs and 16 RBI's. Three of the home runs have been hit in consecutive games, which is a first for Jeter.

Nick Swisher is also having a very productive season. This season his average is .273 with 19 home runs and 72 RBI's. Nick homered to right center in the seventh inning last night to give the Yanks a 3-1 lead, and the win.

Today's pitching matchup for the second game against the Indians is H. Kuroda (12-8, 2.96 ERA) against J. Masterson (9-11, 4.73 ERA). While both teams were on a losing streak (Yankees - 3, Indians - 9), the Yankees managed to pull through with CC on the mound dealing and great base running, along with Nick Swisher's home run. Let's see if the Yanks can come out with another win. Of course, let's go Yankees!

Tight Race

The race in the AL East is on. It is the most competitive right now with the Yankees (72-50) leading but Tampa Bay (68-54) is right behind them, and Baltimore (66-56) is six games behind. This is such a crucial time for the Yanks to continue to win, because one loss can put them in jeopardy of losing that first place spot. Teams like the Rays and Orioles are too good to slip behind. Tampa Bay has a five game winning streak and they are playing some of their best baseball right now. The Yankees have a tough schedule coming up with two more games against the White Sox, a series with the Indians, who are playing very well, and then they play the Blue Jays, and the Orioles. The White Sox are leading the AL Central with a record of 66-55, and came back last night to beat the Yanks. It was all Yankees until the fifth inning, when Chicago scored five runs. The Yankees and the White Sox battled it out in the fifth when the Yanks tied it and then took the lead to make it 6-5 but then Beckham homered to right and tied the game once again. From then on, it went downhill for the Yankees. Chicago scored three more runs, winning the game 9-6.

The White Sox scored five runs off of Garcia and Joba Chamberlain was booed off the mound when he gave up a leadoff home run to tie the game. "He has to be more consistent, he has to help us." Girardi said of Chamberlain. (nypost.com)

Derek Jeter has been a key to the Yankees success lately. He homered on Monday against the White Sox, and went 4 for 5 to raise his average to .398. "He just continues to have big days for us," Joe Girardi said. "That's what he's doing. It is pretty amazing." (ESPN.com)

Ivan Nova (11-6,, 4.76 ERA) is on the mound for the Yankees tonight against Liriano (4-10, 5.22 ERA). Nova has been inconsistent but he has shown signs of improvement over his last couple of outings. The Yankees need to get more wins on the board in order to stay in first place with a nice lead above Tampa Bay and the Orioles. Hopefully they can deliver. Of course, let's go Yankees!

Raining Yankees

The Red Sox got off to a slippery start against the Yankees on Friday night. The rain started coming down as soon as the game started, and everyone kept a watchful eye on the weather. There was lightening in the sky and lightening in the stadium, Yankee lightening! Nick Swisher started it off in the first inning with a long home run to left. His home run was followed by Curtis Granderson's homer to right. But wait! The Yanks weren't done there. Russell Martin went yard in the second inning as well, making it 3-0 Yankees. The Red Sox had seen enough. The third inning was all Red Sox as Ciriaco grounded tho shortstop and Aviles scored. It was 3-1 Yankees. Pedroia stepped in and homered to left, and Ciriaco and Ellsbury scored. The Red Sox had taken the lead and it was 4-3.

But wait, we all know the Yankees don't quit without putting up a fight! Phil Hughes, Robertson, and Soriano shut down the Red Sox. It was all Yankees after the third inning. Derek Jeter homered to left to tie the game, Jayson Nix singled to right, to score McGehee, and in the seventh inning Nick Swisher homered (yes, again!) to right center. The final score was 6-4 Yankees. What a game it was!

This was the 12th time that Nick Swisher hit a home run from both, the right and the left side in one game. The only other switch hitter that has done that more is Mark Teixeira with 13 times. Mark Teixeira is out of the lineup today for two straight days due to inflammation in his left wrist. The Teixeira - Padilla rivalry will have to wait until the next series. There is a possibility that he could play tomorrow.

The Yanks are on fire! It's going to be tough to stop them. Lester has a big job to do today. Phelps (3-3, 2.53 ERA) is up against Lester (6-10, 5.20 ERA). Hopefully Phelps can delver a good game and the Yankee offense will pick up right where it left off yesterday. Of course, go Yankees!

Preview: Yankee - Red Sox Series

It's that time again. The Red Sox are coming to the Bronx for a three game series. This series is crucial for the Red Sox as they are fighting for the wild card spot and are currently competing with two of the best teams, besides the Yanks, in the AL East, Baltimore and Tampa Bay. They really have to find their groove and start winning in order to clinch that wild card. How do they do it? First off, they need to shut the Bronx Bombers down. That is going to be a challenge for sure. The Yankees, who are in first place in the AL East couldn't be performing any better right now. They just won 3-4 during the series with the Rangers. Their offense was right on target. With David Ortiz and Middlebrooks on the DL, the Red Sox offense must pick up the slack, not to mention their pitching staff. The Red Sox pitching has been struggling and in order to shut the Yankees down, a team is going to need outstanding pitching.

For the series opener on Friday, it is Phil Hughes (11-10, 4.44 ERA) vs. Morales (3-3, 3.29 ERA). Phil Hughes has had his up's and down's but he was charged with the two most recent losses, prior to the loss to the Rangers yesterday. Although Hughes has been inconsistent, he has shown great potential. I think Phil Hughes is due for a win and I think he's going to get it in the series opener against the Red Sox. Hughes really dealt during his last matchup with the Red Sox on July 27th, earning the win, while Morales struggled against the Yankees on July 7th with a loss. Hughes will want to continue his success against the Sox and try to get this win, while Morales wants to get revenge. It will be a great pitching matchup!

Nick Swisher ha been on fire against the Red Sox this year. He is 11 for 26 (.423) with three home runs, three doubles, and twelve RBI's against the Sox this season. The Red Sox really need to keep an eye on Swisher because one wrong pitch and he can do a lot of damage. Jayson Nix and McGehee have been delivering for the Yanks as well. With A-Rod out, Chavez, Nix, and McGehee have really stepped up to the plate.

I think the series can go either way. The Yankees have been playing very well and have been very consistent (offense), but their pitching needs to become more consistent. The Red Sox are very eager and need to win this series in order to be considered for the wildcard so it will just come down to what team performs and what team doesn't. I really think the way that the Yankees have been playing, they could easily take the entire series, or     2-3. This is my favorite series, by far..Can't wait to see what happens! Of course, go Yanks!

Soaring Over the Blue Jays

The Yanks have arrived! After coming off of a split in Detroit and winning the last two games, the Yankees took on Toronto with confidence. I was hesitant to see Freddy Garcia pitch because of his recent inconsistencies but to my (and a lot of other peoples) surprise, he pitched a great game. Jeter, Suzuki, and Swisher all went 2-5, with Cano 2-4. The team's hitting has been unstoppable and right on target and hopefully it will continue throughout their series with the Blue Jays and continue into their series against the Rangers and the Red Sox.

Today's pitchers are Nova (10-6) and Laffey (3-2). Nova has had some struggles on the mound lately, losing two in a row, but here's hoping to him turning things around to give the Yanks a second win in Toronto. Since joining the Yankees, Ichiro has been right on target, a great addition to the team both offensively and defensively. Suzuki matched a career high with 5 RBI's. He is batting .269 in 17 games since being traded to the Yankees. Mark Teixeira has become much more consistent who homered for the second straight game. Nick Swisher has also been hitting very well, along with Ibanez. In last night's game, Joe Girardi opted to bring Ibanez in to hit for Andruw Jones which was a smart decision, as Raul gave the Yanks a 10-3 lead.

While Bautista is out on the DL, Encarnacion is batting .285, has 29 home runs, 75 RBI's, and 69 runs but has been struggling lately with 1-13 in his last four and he's 1-9 against Nova. The Blue Jays have lost four games in a row and are 13 games behind the Yankees in the AL East.

Let's see if the Yanks can continue their awesome offense and if Nova can turn his game around and help them win the second game of the series. Let's go Yankees!

Tame Those Tigers Once, Tame Them Twice

The Yankees had a tough first couple of games against the Tigers, losing both and ultimately putting their first place standing into jeopardy. Last night we all saw the true Yankee team. They were right on target with their offense and CC Sabathia was dealing very tough pitches. The Yanks started off strong in the first inning. It all started with Eric Chavez, who singled to center to score Nick Swisher. Granderson was looking to leave his slump behind came up to bat and singled to right, which allowed Mark Teixeira to score to make it a 2-0 game. Granderson wasn't done there! He went yard in the third inning with a three run home run which made it 5-0. It was all Yankees throughout the first four innings when Swisher singled to right, scoring Jeter and Teixeira's sac fly to score Jeter to make it 7-0. Who would think the Tigers would come back? Great pitching, great offense for the Yanks..But they did. Boesch singled to center to get Detroit on the board. Before we all knew it, it was 7-3 Yankees. Ichiro reached on an infield single to first and Granderson scored which gave the Yankees an even bigger lead, but the Tigers weren't going to completely back down. The seventh inning was very long. The Tigers picked up four more runs to make it an 8-7 game. After watching their lead diminish the first two games against Detroit and losing I was thinking the same thing was about to happen last night too. The Yanks took over in the eighth and ninth innings, scoring two more runs which ultimately gave them a four run lead, and the final score was 12-8.

Today's matchup is between Kuroda (10-8) and Fister (6-7). I think the Yankees success last night definitely had to do with both their pitching and offense, but a key to their success early on in the game is to have shut out pitching. With a team like Detroit with great hitters like Cabrera, Kuroda cannot give them an easy pitch to take advantage of. If their pitching is on point and they continue their great base running and hitting, they will have no problems splitting this series! Let's go Yankees!

Small Setback? Hope so!

It’s been a rocky month so far for the Yankees. Although they’re leading the AL East with a 62-44 record, there is a great deal of competition for that first place spot, as well as for the wild card. It doesn’t take a lot for a team to lose a few games and slip back in the division. I hope that isn’t the case for the Yanks! I truly believe that they will get back on track and have consistent pitching and continue their awesome offense through the rest of August and hold onto first place.

My previous post talked about Ichiro and whether it was a good move for the Yanks or not. I think it was a great, strategic move. Although Suzuki is older, he is an ideal outfielder, which the Yankees needed with Brett Gardner out, and as Kevin Long, the Yankees hitting coach said, Ichiro is one of the best at always getting bat to ball. He extended his hitting streak to eleven yesterday against the Mariners, but it just wasn’t enough for the Yanks to take that game. They lost 1-0. Hiroki Kuroda pitched a great game, but the Yankee offense just couldn’t find it’s groove to overcome that 1-0 lead. Great pitching by both teams.

The Yanks played their best against the Red Sox, but it ultimately came down to two great teams, playing great at the time trying to get a win. The Red Sox are very hungry for any win they can get due to the wild card situation and how good and competitive each team is right now. My favorite game in the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry has to be when Padilla pitches. In both series this season Mark Teixeira got a home run against Padilla and that just makes me so happy! Even though Padilla might be a good pitcher, I don’t like him because of his reputation in the game. I love to see the Yanks get revenge on him, but it’s even better when Teixeira does because of their past! Go Mark!

It was a rough beginning to the three game set against the Orioles but the Yanks stopped them from sweeping and won the third game 12-3. Their offense was really happening that day! Typically a home run team, I am seeing more of the Yanks driving in more runs, especially Nick Swisher. Since coming back from his injuries he has really been hitting long drives and has more RBI’s as a result of it. That is what the Yanks need heading into the later part of the season. They can’t just rely on home runs (even though they do make a HUGE difference!). They have to be able to score more runs by getting base hits, which is what they’re starting to do much better as of late.

The Yanks have taken one out of two games so far in their matchup with the Mariners, and we will see what happens in the rubber game today. Garcia (2-2) will be on the mound for the Yankees, who will be up against Iwakuma (4-5). I have my doubts about Garcia on the mound, but hopefully his performances will improve. I still think Garcia should not be a starter but with Pettitte out, the Yankees really need all the backup for the starting rotation. Will the Yankees pick up and continue their awesome offense to help Garcia or will the inconsistency continue?