News
Yanks go on final trip before break
New York (48-34) at Minnesota (43-40), 8:10 p.m. ET
By Jared Diamond / MLB.com
07/06/09 8:24 PM ET
NEW YORK -- The Yankees have fared well against their next two opponents so far this season, but as far as manager Joe Girardi's concerned, that's virtually irrelevant. The Twins and Angels were both different teams then -- shells of themselves ravaged by injuries and poor play. As a result, the Yankees are 6-1 against two clubs that traditionally give them a lot of trouble. But this time, it may not be so easy. The Yankees will begin a six-game road trip on Tuesday in Minnesota and Anaheim, where they will play their final games before the All-Star break. Ace CC Sabathia will take the ball against Scott Baker and will try to get the team back on track after a tough 7-6 loss to Toronto on Monday afternoon. New York took two out of three from Los Angeles in early May and then swept Minnesota two weeks later, but Girardi warned of reading too much into the prior results. "I think both teams are different," Girardi said. "You look at Los Angeles, they're obviously a lot healthier than they were the first time we saw them -- [Vladimir] Guerrero's back, [John] Lackey's back, Ervin Santana's back, [Howard] Kendrick came back, he was playing well. They're a different club. "Minnesota's very tough in that building, and they've been playing well, too. We know these are two tough series, but we'll worry about Minnesota first and then move on." The Twins were under .500 when the Yankees first played them this season, but they have played well of late, and enter this series three games over and within striking distance of the first-place Tigers in the American League Central. Meanwhile, the Angels entered play on Monday in a tie with the Rangers for first in the AL West. The Yankees are heading on the road playing quite well, though. They are 14 games over .500 and are coming off a 5-2 homestand against the Mariners and Blue Jays. The starting pitching and offense appear to have clicked at the same time, so New York will enter the Metrodome feeling confident "Seattle was playing well, and Toronto has been up and down," Girardi said. "We won a game [Roy] Halladay pitched. I thought we had a pretty good homestand." Now, the Yankees hope they can say the same about their upcoming road trip, with the All-Star break rapidly approaching. To this point, the team seems to be in agreement the first half of the season has certainly been a success. One more strong road trip would simply solidify it. "We just want to continue to play well," said Derek Jeter, who was voted the AL's starting shortstop for the All-Star Game. "We're doing a lot of good things around here, and that's what you want to continue until the All-Star break. We've got six more games at Minnesota and Anaheim, and they both play us tough. We want to just continue this." Pitching matchupNYY: LHP CC Sabathia (7-5, 3.85 ERA)
Sabathia had a rare bad outing on Thursday night, allowing six runs in 5 2/3 innings to the Mariners while picking up the loss. Despite having what Girardi called his best fastball of the season, he struggled to keep the ball down and was rocked for 10 hits, including a home run by Franklin Gutierrez. Nevertheless, the left-hander has remained the Yankees' best pitcher this season. MIN: RHP Scott Baker (6-6, 4.99 ERA)
Baker labored through five innings in his previous start against the Royals, throwing 111 pitches while allowing just one run to earn his sixth win of the season. His pitch count was driven up by many long at-bats, including a 15-pitch at-bat against Willie Bloomquist and an 11-pitch at-bat against Tony Pena Jr. While it was a hard-fought win, the right-hander is coming off a successful June in which he went 4-0 with 3.20 ERA in six starts. Baker is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two career starts vs. New York. Tidbits
Injured catcher Jose Molina was used as the designated hitter in a rehab game for Double-A Trenton on Monday, and is expected to catch for Trenton on Tuesday before being reevaluated. It seems he is on track for a Wednesday return to the Yankees in Minnesota. ... Eric Hinske became the 16th player to hit a home run as his first hit with the Yankees, most recently accomplished by Cody Ransom on Aug. 17, 2008. He was only the 10th Yankees player to hit a homer in his home debut, last accomplished by Xavier Nady on July 28, 2008. ... As part of a promotion for senior citizens on Monday, the Yankees marked down approximately 170 of their Field Level seats that are normally priced at $375 to $5 Tickets
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• Wednesday: Yankees (A.J. Burnett, 7-4, 3.83) at Twins (Glen Perkins, 4-4, 4.38), 8:10 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Yankees (TBD) at Twins (Anthony Swarzak, 2-2, 3.90), 1:10 p.m. ET
• Friday: Yankees (TBD) at Angels (Joe Saunders, 8-5, 4.44), 10:05 p.m. ET
Jared Diamond is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
