For the first time this season the Yankees head into the final game of a three-game set with a sweep looming. Normally they’re on the other end of this, but after Burnett’s rough outing on Friday and the offense’s complete inability to hit the Jays’ lefties both days, they now face the threat.
Emotionally, there’s not much to say before the game. Win. That’s it. No one wants to see a sweep. We’ve seen a few teams drop the first two to the Yanks only to come back and avoid the sweep in the third. It would be nice to see the Yanks pull off that.
This game has you can’t predict baseball written all over it. Brandon Morrow walks the farm. Normally the Yankees eat those guys for breakfast and still have leftovers. Yet he leads the league in strikeout rate, so he certainly has the ability to set down the Yanks. If he does that today don’t be surprised.
Javy Vazquez allows tons of home runs. He’s second worst in the AL in home run rate. The Blue Jays lead the league in home runs by a long shot. That seems like a terrible formula, and if Javy doesn’t have his control he’ll be toast by the second. But if he has command like he did against Baltimore, then he can carve up the Jays with his five-pitch repertoire.
Two pitchers who play to their opponents’ strengths. I think we’re going to see a whacky game this afternoon.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Nick Swisher, RF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Robinson Cano, 2B
6. Jorge Posada, DH
7. Curtis Granderson, CF
8. Francisco Cervelli, C
9. Brett Gardner, LF
And on the mound, number thirty-one, Javier Vazquez.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.