The best cure for a blowout loss is a win the next day. The Yanks get that chance this afternoon, as Joba Chamberlain gets his second start of the season. He’ll face off against Anthony Reyes, who the Indians acquired from the Cardinals last year. A good start from Joba could go a long way today.
Normally I take up a lot of room in the game thread by going over the pitcher vs. team matchups. However, Reyes has made just seven starts in the American League, none of which have been against the Yankees. So they’ll be seeing a fresh arm today. Thankfully it’s not a lefty; we all know how the Yanks tend to fare against soft-tossing lefties they haven’t seen before.
Joba’s line against Cleveland isn’t pretty: 6.75 ERA in 2008. Those were all in relief appearances, though, and today marks his first start against the Tribe. Just to make a point, we flash back to May 6, 2008. After Andy Pettitte and (yes) Kyle Farnsworth held the Indians to two runs over seven innings, the game was primed for Joba. It was 3-2 Yanks heading into the ever-important eighth inning. What did Joba do? Allowed three runs and blew the game. So, to those who want to cite specific games which support that the Yanks need Joba in the bullpen, I point to this specific game (and this game).
Thankfully, Eric Wedge used his best reliever for two innings and 41 pitches yesterday, and used another one of his top guys for 28 pitches. There’s still Jensen Lewis, though.
Lineup:
Jeter, SS
Damon, LF
Teixeira, 1B
Swisher, DH
Posada, C
Cano, 2B
Melky, RF
Ransom, 3B
Gardner, CF
And on the mound, number sixty-two, Joba Chamberlain.
Notes: We’ve had a lot of content this morning, so make sure you scroll down and check out our posts on yesterday’s attendance, today’s roster moves, and of course the chat.