Even though Marcus Thames did a more than admirable job filling as the three-hole hitter during the last two games, I think we’re all happy to have Mark Teixeira back with the team. The Yanks’ first baseman missed those games because his wife had the nerve to give birth during the season, but he returns just in time to face one of his favorite pitchers, Bruce Chen. Tex isn’t just 9-for-14 off Chen in his career, six of those nine hits have left the yard and two others have gone for doubles. That includes a 2-for-3 effort a few weeks ago. Welcome back Tex; now please, don’t ever leave us again.
The other big story of the night is Curtis Granderson’s supposedly revamped swing. He downplayed the changes, though it still sounds like there some pretty significant adjustments made. The results probably won’t be immediate, but stranger things have happened. Here’s the lineup…
Jeter, SS
Swisher, RF
Teixeira, 1B
A-Rod, 3B
Cano, 2B
Thames, DH
Kearns, LF
Granderson, CF
Cervelli, C
And on the bump, it’s the big man, CC Sabathia.
Another game out in the midwest, so this one doesn’t start until a little after 8pm ET. Once the game starts, you can watch on YES. Enjoy.