(Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The Yankees have won four straight for the third time this season but they’ve yet to win five in a row. All that stands in their way is a soft-tossing rookie left-hander they’ve never faced before. Might as well be Sandy Koufax in his prime, amirite? Here’s the lineup…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
RF Nick Swisher
DH Andruw Jones
LF Jayson Nix
C  Chris Stewart

Today’s game starts a little after 4pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Russell Martin Update: Martin is out with a stiff neck but it’s nothing serious. It shouldn’t keep him out more than a day or two.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 47: The Drive for Five

(Sabathia vs AP, Colon via Getty)

I mean this in the nicest way possible: today’s starters CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon are enormous. Just two physically huge, very large men. The official sites list Sabathia at 6-foot-7, 290 lbs. and Colon at 5-foot-11, 265 lbs, but I don’t think those have been updated since high school. That’s just their build, they’re always going to be big. At least Sabathia has the advantage of height to go along with his girth. The mound in Oakland is really going to earn its paycheck today. Here’s the starting nine…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
DH Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
1B Mark Teixeira
LF Raul Ibanez
RF Nick Swisher
3B Eric Chavez
C  Chris Stewart

LHP CC Sabathia

This afternoon’s game starts a little after 4pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 46: Heavyweights

Swish is one of two former A's in tonight's lineup. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

It’s only a handful of games a year, but these late West Coast games are the worst. I’ve lived in out west before, I much prefer Yankees games starting at 4pm out there than 10pm here. First world problems, eh? Here’s the lineup…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
3B Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
1B Mark Teixeira
LF Raul Ibanez
RF Nick Swisher
DH Eric Chavez
C  Russell Martin

RHP Ivan Nova

Tonight’s game starts a little after 10pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Ivan Nova News: Apparently Nova was dealing with a “minor hamstring” problem at some point recently, a separate issue from the right foot contusion and right ankle sprain he suffered two starts ago against the Orioles. He’s fine though and will make tonight’s start.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 45: The Left Coast

(Nick Laham/Getty Images)

The Yankees have been scuffling in a real bad way these last few weeks, but they have a chance to win their second straight tonight and head into tomorrow’s day off feeling positive. No one wants to spend their Thursday thinking about yet another loss. Things turned around last season with a late-May trip to West Coast and that’s where the Yankees are heading next, so let’s wrap up this homestand on a high note. Here’s the lineup…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
RF Nick Swisher
DH Andruw Jones
C  Russell Martin
LF Jayson Nix

LHP Andy Pettitte

Tonight’s game is scheduled to start at 7:05pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Team Meeting Update: Jack Curry reports that Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi called a team meeting prior to last night’s game. They told the players not to panic and that they believe in their ability to bounce back from this ugly stretch of baseball.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 44: Getaway Night

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The Yankees have scored double-digit runs just three times in 42 games this season (7.1%), down from 11.1% last season and 11.7% the year before. The first time was the win over the Angels on Sunday Night Baseball (when Raul Ibanez nearly hit a ball into the upper deck), the second time was the huge Fenway Park comeback win over the Red Sox, and the third time was in Kansas City against Luke Hochevar two weeks ago. Hochevar is on the mound again tonight, and boy if there was ever a time for him to repeat that 2.2 IP, 7 R showing, it’s right now. Here’s the lineup…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
2B Robinson Cano
3B Alex Rodriguez
DH Raul Ibanez
RF Nick Swisher
1B Mark Teixeira
C  Russell Martin
LF Dewayne Wise

RHP Phil Hughes

The weather in New York isn’t great again but it looks like they’ll get a full nine innings in tonight. The game is scheduled to start a little after 7pm ET and can be seen on My9 locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 43: A Friendly Face

(REUTERS/Mike Stone)

The Yankees have been struggling offensively for about three weeks now and apparently the time has finally come for change. Joe Girardi dropped Mark Teixeira — who’s had the last three days off to deal with his lingering cough — to seventh in tonight’s lineup, the first time he’s started a game there since his rookie season. We’ve been waiting for Tex to bat lower in the order for a while now given his continued poor performance, but the Yankees waited as long as they could for him to improve. Something had to give. Here’s the starting nine…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
2B Robinson Cano
DH Alex Rodriguez
LF Raul Ibanez
RF Nick Swisher
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Eric Chavez
C  Russell Martin

RHP Hiroki Kuroda

The weather in New York is pretty crummy, but the forecast has gotten better as the day progressed and it looks like they’ll get a full nine innings in tonight. The game is scheduled to start at 7pm and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 42: Time for Change

(AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

Call me delusional, but I feel like the Yankees are going on the cusp of putting something big together. Like a blowout win this afternoon and then five wins in a row or ten wins in the next 12 games. Something like that. Remember, they turned things around last year on a late-May trip to the West Coast and guess where they’re headed in a week? Maybe I’m wrong, but I really hope not. Take the series today and build on it tomorrow. Here’s the lineup…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
2B Robinson Cano
3B Alex Rodriguez
DH Raul Ibanez
RF Nick Swisher
1B Eric Chavez
LF Dewayne Wise
C  Chris Stewart

LHP CC Sabathia

This afternoon’s game starts at 1:05pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 41: Something Big

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The Yankees got a stellar performance out of Andy Pettitte last night, so stellar that it masked the stench of the offense’s complete inability to cash in on numerous opportunities with men on base. A pair of late homers stretched the lead a bit, but the game was a lot closer than the 4-0 score would indicate. Ivan Nova has been struggling this season and he’s back on the mound this afternoon after suffering a right foot contusion and a right ankle sprain his last time out. The Yankees need him to follow up Andy’s performance with a strong start of his own while the lineup tries to figure their issues out. Here’s the starting nine…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
DH Robinson Cano
3B Alex Rodriguez
RF Raul Ibanez
1B Nick Swisher
C  Russell Martin
LF Dewayne Wise
2B Jayson Nix

RHP Ivan Nova

This afternoon’s game starts at 1:05pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy.

Mark Teixeira Update: Before the game, Joe Girardi said there’s a chance he’ll give Teixeira tomorrow off as well as they try to get rid of this lingering cough/revive his bat.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 40: Follow Up

Not gonna see Aroldis Chapman tonight, he's pitched in the last two games. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Do you watch much NL baseball? It’s weird, it’s like a parallel baseball universe where games are less competitive and players like Adam Kennedy bat fifth for a first place team. Less competitive probably isn’t the right way to put it, but the games are definitely different. Spend a week watching Senior Circuit baseball and you’ll have a new appreciation for just how devastating AL East baseball is. The lineups are relentless, the pitchers are so powerful, the rosters are so fine-tuned so everyone on the 25-man roster has a specific role. The NL is just … different.

Welcome to the first series of 2012 Interleague Play. Here’s the lineup…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
2B Robinson Cano
3B Alex Rodriguez
RF Raul Ibanez
1B Nick Swisher
DH Eric Chavez
LF Dewayne Wise
C  Chris Stewart

LHP Andy Pettitte

Tonight’s game will start a little after 7pm ET and can be seen on My9 locally and MLB Network nationally. enjoy.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 39: Interleague

Brett Lawrie dropped his appeal and will not play tonight. (Abelimages/Getty Images)

The Yankees have had some trouble scoring runs these last few days and really for the last two weeks or so, and I think we all need an offensive explosion for sanity’s sake. The Blue Jays are running rookie right-hander Drew Hutchinson out there, a mostly two-pitch guy with good command. Please hit him hard. Here’s the starting nine…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
2B Robinson Cano
1B Mark Teixeira
LF Raul Ibanez
DH Nick Swisher
3B Eric Chavez
RF Andruw Jones
C  Russell Martin

RHP Phil Hughes

Tonight’s game starts a little after 7pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Try to enjoy.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Game 38: How about some runs?