Last night the Yankees faced rookie Chris Tillman, No. 22 on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects. Today they’ll drop down three spots to face Brian Matusz, No. 25. The 2008 No. 4 overall pick has had some struggles early on, but that can happen to a guy who was in the majors less than a year after he signed his first pro contract.

Matusz spent three years at the University of San Diego, and was flat out dominant in the last two. In his junior year he struck out 141 in 105 innings, walking just 22 in that span and allowing four homers. That led to a 1.71 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. In other words, he did not at all seem like an overdraft at the No. 4 spot.

After signing on the August 15 deadline, Matusz suited up for the Surprise Rafters of the Arizona Fall League. He got smacked around a little bit in the hitters’ league, allowing 16 runs, 14 earned, over 26.2 innings. He did strikeout 31 to just seven walks, but he surrendered six homers, two more than he had his entire junior season.

After that it was off to Advanced A ball, where he completely crushed the Carolina League, striking out 75 in 66.2 innings and walking just 21. That earned him a promotion to AA, where his strikeouts dipped a bit — though he was still fanning a batter an inning — but where his results improved: a 1.55 ERA through 46.1 innings. That led to his call-up on August 4, 354 days after he signed.

He got off to a rough start, allowing five runs over 2.2 innings to the Blue Jays in his second start. He’s settled down since then, especially in his last two starts, in which he’s pitched seven innings in each while keeping his pitch count under 100.

Matusz is a curveball-changeup-fastball guy with an average slider. His secondary stuff gets listed first because he leans on it more than most pitchers. His curveball is a plus pitch, though according to FanGraphs he’s used it less frequently than his changeup and slider. He throws his fastball just around 60 percent of the time. It averages around 91, though he can kiss 94 if he needs to blow it by someone. He could certainly cause trouble for the Yanks this afternoon.

On the other side, A.J. Burnett will try to replicate his last outing against Tampa Bay, only with fewer pitches. He tossed 99 through six last time out. That’s fine, but let’s see if he can go seven. Eh?

Damon is still out, but could pinch hit today and will probably start tomorrow. Ben had a David Robertson update earlier this morning.

Lineup:

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Jerry Hairston, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Nick Swisher, RF
6. Robinson Cano, 2B
7. Shelley Duncan, DH
8. Melky Cabrera, CF
9. Jose Molina, C

And on the mound, number thirty-four, A.J. Burnett.

I really wish they would just call this one, but the tarp’s coming off the field.

I assume all the regulars will be out and the “only when losing” bullpen will be on the case when the game resumes.

2,722.

Update 8:00 p.m.: They’re saying first pitch around 8:20. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Update 7:00 p.m.: Yeah, definitely a delay.

Update 6:56 p.m.: The Yankees Weather Twitter feed says there’s a delay. The beat reporters haven’t heard.

It’s still rainy out, but as of this moment it appears they’ll play the game. We’ll let you know if we hear otherwise.

So, to kick things off:

Say what you will about George Bush, but that was a strike, from the mound, with a flak jacket. Then there’s the whole schtick with Jeter: “This is Yankee Stadium,” Jeter said. “You’ll get booed if you don’t throw from the mound.”

If they get this one in, the Yanks will face off against rookie Chris Tillman. A 2006 second-round pick of the Seattle Mariners, Tillman headed to Baltimore in the Erik Bedard trade. Quite a steal for Andy MacPhail and company, indeed. Tillman’s stock shot up after last season when he experienced success as the youngest player in the Eastern League. Heading into the 2009 season he was ranked 22 in Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects. He dominated at AAA this year before finally getting the call on July 29.

He’s gotten off to a rough start, allowing 24 earned runs in 46.1 innings so far. Like many young pitchers, he’s had trouble striking out major league hitters, his K/9 at 4.7 after being up around a strikeout per inning in the minors. Still, there’s no doubt he’s a legitimate talent. He’s just got to put it together. Thankfully for them (but unfortunately for the Yankees), the Orioles have learned much about patience over the years.

After sweeping the Rays, the Yankees come into the series 8-2 in their last 10. They’ll send Andy Pettitte out to keep the streak going. He’s one of the big reasons the Yankees have played so well in the second half. While Joba and Burnett were struggling in August, Pettitte was busy getting outs. He had a 2.50 ERA for the month, though he had one disproportionately bad start. Even so, he struck out 39 in 39.2 innings, an insane number for him.

Since the All-Star Break, Pettitte is 5-1 with a 2.88 ERA, and the team is 8-2 when he pitches. He’s held opponents to a meager .573 OPS,a nd has struck out 65 in 65.2 innings. His WHIP in that span is just a hair above 1.00. Andy will continue to work towards his incentives in September, and he deserves every one of them. It’s difficult to overstate his contribution to the 2009 team.

The only note, other than them trying to get this game in, is that Johnny Damon‘s out of the lineup with back issues. Word is it locked up. I’d think it’s doubtful we see Johnny until Sunday at the earliest.

It’s cool, it’s rainy, let’s see some baseball.

Lineup:

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Nick Swisher, RF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Melky Cabrera, LF
9. Brett Gardner, CF

And on the mound, number forty-six, Andy Pettitte.