The Angels are throwing the Yankees a little bit of a curveball tonight, calling up rookie right-hander Garrett Richards to start instead of going with Hisanori Takahashi. Richards is coming straight from Double-A, where he posted a 3.54 FIP with an okay strikeout rate (6.38 K/9). Baseball America considered him the team’s seventh best prospect before the season, saying that he “touches 96 mph at times and sits comfortably at 92-93 with sink and occasional cutting action.” A mid-80’s breaking ball is his second pitch, which he calls a curveball but it looks a whole lot like a slider. BA cites observers that consider him “everything from a mid-rotation starter to a power reliever.”
Anyway, the Yankees have never seen Richards before, which usually means CERTAIN DOOM. I’m actually feeling pretty good about the matchup just because Richards is a typical power pitcher. The rookies with soft stuff are the ones that tend to give the Yankees fits, plus going from Double-A to Yankee Stadium in the middle of playoff spot race is a tough spot. Here’s the lineup…
Brett Gardner, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Curtis Granderson, CF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nick Swisher, RF
Eric Chavez, DH
Russell Martin, C
Eduardo Nunez, 3B
Ivan Nova, SP
The game starts a little after 7pm ET and can be seen on YES locally or ESPN nationally. Enjoy.
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