Not again. (Al Bello/Getty)

The Yankees got walloped by the lowly Astros on Monday night, losing 9-1 to the league’s worst team in their own building. Stuff like that will happen a few times each year, it’s inevitable with a 162-game schedule, but that doesn’t make it feel any better. It’s pretty embarrassing.

Luckily, the Yankees and Astros are back on the field today for game two of the three-game series. New York has a chance to put the blowout loss behind them and get back to winning, something they’ve done very well since that brutal 1-4 start. They aren’t scoring a ton of runs — 3.8 runs per game since the two de-pants-ings of the Indians — but their pitching has been stellar. Well, stellar outside of Andy Pettitte last night. Here’s the lineup that will face right-hander Phil Humber…

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. LF Ichiro Suzuki
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. DH Travis Hafner
5. RF Brennan Boesch
6. 3B Jayson Nix
7. 1B Lyle Overbay
8. SS Eduardo Nunez
9. C Chris Stewart

And on the mound is the veteran right-hander, Hiroki Kuroda.

It’s a lovely day in New York, perfect baseball weather. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:05pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

The team may stink, but those are some rad uniforms. (Getty)

Winning four of four against the Blue Jays over the weekend was the start of what could be an outstanding homestand. The Astros bring the second worst record (7-18) and first worst run differential (-50) in baseball into this three-game midweek series, so the Yankees have a chance to really fatten up their win total as the calendar gets ready to flip over to January. No big league team is a pushover and it’s unrealistic to expect a sweep in any series, but taking two of three against Houston feels like an absolute bare minimum to me. Here’s the lineup that will face right-hander Lucas Harrell…

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. 2B Robinson Cano
3. LF Vernon Wells
4. DH Travis Hafner
5. RF Brennan Boesch
6. 3B Jayson Nix
7. 1B Lyle Overbay
8. SS Eduardo Nunez
9. C Austin Romine

And on the mound is the former Astro, Andy Pettitte.

It’s been raining on and off all day in New York and there are expected to be some light showers tonight, but it’s not supposed to be anything heavy enough to delay or postpone the game. It will just be one of those ugly, misty games. Tonight’s game is scheduled to start a little after 7pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Kevin Youkilis Update: Youkilis (back) had an MRI today as scheduled, but the results are not back yet. He isn’t too concerned, but obviously something is wrong. He wouldn’t have missed seven of the last eight games otherwise.

Dickey face. (Rob Carr/Getty)

The Yankees have won the first three games of this four-game series against this winter’s offseason darling, the currently last place Toronto Blue Jays. If it wasn’t for the lowly Astros, the Jays would have the worst record (9-16) and run differential (-34) in the AL. It’s early, but they’ve been a big disappointment.

Four-game sweeps are pretty rare, and if the Yankees are going to pull it off they’re going to have to beat the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner to do it. R.A. Dickey’s 4.66 ERA (4.24 FIP) is relatively mediocre at the moment, but it’s not all that surprising a feel pitcher is off to a slow start. He had a 4.45 ERA (5.24 FIP) last April before turning into the best pitcher in the world during the summer. Here’s the lineup…

1. CF Ichiro Suzuki
2. 2B Robinson Cano
3. LF Vernon Wells
4. DH Travis Hafner
5. RF Brennan Boesch
6. 3B Jayson Nix
7. 1B Lyle Overbay
8. SS Eduardo Nunez
9. C Chris Stewart

And on the mound is the fourth longest tenured player on the active roster, Phil Hughes.

It’s a beautiful day for baseball in New York. This afternoon’s game is scheduled to start a little after 1pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and TBS nationally. Enjoy.

Kevin Youkilis Update: Youkilis’ back is bothering him again, which is bad news. If he does need to go on the DL, the Yankees won’t be able to backdate it because he played yesterday. For shame.

(Elsa/Getty)

CC Sabathia might have the quietest 3.34 ERA in baseball right now. He hasn’t been particularly sharp in any of his five starts outside of his seven shutout innings in Detroit, and he’s been prone to the “one bad inning.” The Red Sox scored four runs against him in the second inning on Opening Day, the Diamondbacks scored two runs against him in the first inning two starts ago, and the Rays scored four runs against him in the first last time out. Six of the 14 runs he’s allowed this year have come in that first inning (42.9%), which is way more than the league average (21.7%). Today would be as good a time as any to reverse that annoying trend. Here is the starting lineup that will face left-hander J.A. Happ…

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. 3B Jayson Nix
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. LF Vernon Wells
5. 1B Kevin Youkilis — came through batting practice after missing a week with back trouble
6. DH Travis Hafner
7. RF Ichiro Suzuki
8. SS Eduardo Nunez
9. C Chris Stewart

And on the mound is the big man, CC Sabathia.

It’s a gorgeous day for baseball in New York. First pitch is scheduled for a little after 4pm ET and can be seen on YES. It’s not a FOX game despite the unusual start time, so hooray for that. Enjoy the game.

Roster Move(s): In case you missed it earlier, Ivan Nova was placed on the 15-day with right triceps inflammation. Vidal Nuno has been called up from Triple-A to take his spot. Austin Romine was also recalled to replace Frankie Cervelli, who was officially placed on the 15-day DL with a broken right hand.

That’s not Ben Affleck in a Yankee hat sitting next to Spike Lee, is it? (Jim McIsaac/Getty)

I do 162 of these a year not counting Spring Training and the postseason. I’m allowed a cheesy headline once in a while.

Anyway, the Yankees will not be facing hard-throwing right-hander Josh Johnson tonight as originally scheduled. The former Marlin has a triceps issue and has been scratched, so former Yankee and slow-tossing left-hander Aaron Laffey will make the start instead. Talking about replacing someone with their polar opposite. The Yankees stink against lefties — last night’s beatdown of Mark Buehrle aside — but I’d much rather see them face Laffey than Johnson. No doubt about it. Here’s the starting lineup…

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. 3B Jayson Nix
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. LF Vernon Wells
5. C Frankie Cervelli
6. RF Ichiro Suzuki
7. SS Eduardo Nunez
8. LF Lyle Overbay
9. DH Ben Francisco

And on the mound is the man an awful lot on the line, right-hander Ivan Nova. His leash is getting shorter by the start and he absolutely needs to start pitching well if he wants to remain in the rotation. Everyone’s patience is starting to wear thin.

Lovely weather in New York tonight, great for baseball. The game is scheduled to start a little after 7pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy.

Kevin Youkilis Update: Youkilis (back) still isn’t ready to rejoin the lineup. Joe Girardi indicated he could be placed on the DL if he isn’t able to play in tomorrow’s game.

Mark Teixeira Update: Teixeira (wrist) is still limited to dry swings right now. He has not been cleared to hit off a tee or anything like that.

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

The Yankees just went 3-3 on a six-game road trip that featured six games on turf and in a stadium with a roof. They’re back home in the Bronx to start a ten-game homestand with fresh air and real grass. Outdoor baseball is the best.

Anyway, the Blue Jays are in town for four games and these games are far more important to them than they are to the Yankees. That doesn’t mean they’re insignificant, but Toronto didn’t make all those moves this winter to finish April in the AL East cellar. They need to put some distance between them and New York while the Bombers are dealing with all their injuries. The Yankees, on the other hand, need to generate some offense after getting shut down by the Rays this week. Unfortunately, they’ll have to do that against a left-hander tonight. Here’s the lineup that will face Mark Buehrle…

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. DH Ben Francisco
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. LF Vernon Wells
5. C Frankie Cervelli
6. RF Ichiro Suzuki
7. SS Eduardo Nunez
8. 1B Lyle Overbay
9. 3B Jayson Nix

And on the mound is the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, Hiroki Kuroda.

It’s a little chilly but otherwise nice and clear in New York. Great night for baseball. The game is scheduled to start at 7:05pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy.

Kevin Youkilis Update: Youkilis (back) is not available at all tonight. He tried to take some swings today but he isn’t ready yet. Joe Girardi said this isn’t a DL situation just yet and they are hoping he can return on Saturday.

Derek Jeter Update: Jeter (ankle) held a press conference today that wasn’t newsworthy, really. He said he’ll be back at some point even though he refused to set a specific target date. He’s disappointed by the setback, yadda yadda yadda.

Mariano Rivera met with some veterans and their families yesterday. (AP/Chris O’Meara)

The Yankees and Rays have split the first two games of this three-game series, so tonight’s rubber match will determine whether the Bombers go home tonight on the heels of a 4-2 road trip or a 3-3 road trip. They’ve won ten of 14 games since the ugly 1-4 start, and the good news is that Tampa is throwing right-hander Alex Cobb tonight. Right-hander is the key word there. The Yankees don’t pose much threat to left-handers these days, but they have absolutely demolished righties (147 wRC+) in the early going. Hopefully that continues against Mr. Cobb. Here’s the starting nine…

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. LF Ichiro Suzuki
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. DH Travis Hafner
5. C Frankie Cervelli
6. 1B Lyle Overbay
7. SS Eduardo Nunez
8. RF Brennan Boesch
9. 3B Jayson Nix

And on the mound is the Louisiana-born and Texas-raised left-hander, Andy Pettitte.

Tonight’s series finale is scheduled to start at 7:10pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Three weeks into the season, the Yankees are hitting a gaudy .301/.366/.536 (147 wRC+) against right-handers compared to a wimpy .195/.266/.303 (54 wRC+) against left-handers. That’s Nick Swisher or Paul Goldschmidt against righties and Brian Dozier or Donovan Solano against lefties. It’s Chase Utley vs. Yunel Escobar, Evan Longoria vs. Ichiro Suzuki, Ian Kinsler vs. Chris Nelson, night vs. day, good vs. evil.

The Yankees are an entirely different team against left-handers than they are against right-handers, and tonight they’ll face one of the two or three best lefties in the world: reigning Cy Young Award winner David Price. Even though he’s only 27, we’ve all seen a ton of Price over the years and there are no surprises here. His array of high-octane fastballs could overwhelm New York’s hitters just like Matt Moore’s last night. Price is off to a relatively slow start though (6.26 ERA and 4.93 FIP), so hopefully he remains off his game for at least one more night. Here’s the starting nine…

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. SS Eduardo Nunez
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. LF Vernon Wells
5. DH Ben Francisco
6. 1B Lyle Overbay
7. C Chris Stewart
8. RF Ichiro Suzuki
9. 3B Jayson Nix

And on the mound is the future San Francisco Giant, Phil Hughes.

Tonight’s game is scheduled to start at 7:10pm ET and can be seen on My9 locally and MLB Network nationally. Try to enjoy.

Mark Teixeira Update: Teixeira said his injured wrist is having trouble loosening up when he swings a bat. He is still expected back during the original ten-week window, but his wildly optimistic return date of May 1st ain’t happening (to no one’s surprise).

Derek Jeter Update: Jeter had his follow-up visit with the doctor in North Carolina, and he is back to wearing a walking boot to help his new ankle fracture heal.

Kevin Youkilis Update: Joe Girardi said Youkilis is not expected to return to the lineup until Thursday, when they head home to start a four-game series against the Blue Jays.

(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

The Yankees just played three games on turf in Toronto, now they’ll play three more in Tampa. They’re in their home away from home, a place with a huge faction of Yankees fans thanks to transplants and the club’s ties to the Tampa area. It’s not quite like a home game — some games at Camden Yards in recent years really felt like they were being playing the Bronx, no? — but it’s damn close. Here’s the lineup that will face left-hander Matt Moore…

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. DH Ben Francisco
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. 1B Kevin Youkilis LF Vernon Wells
5. LF Vernon Wells C Frankie Cervelli
6. C Frankie Cervelli RF Brennan Boesch
7. RF Brennan Boesch SS Eduardo Nunez
8. SS Eduardo Nunez 1B Lyle Overbay
9. 3B Jayson Nix

And on the mound is the man with the fourth highest bWAR in MLB history among left-handed pitchers through their age-32 season, CC Sabathia. Here’s the link if you don’t believe me.

Tonight’s game is scheduled to start a little after 7pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and ESPN nationally. The weather in St. Petersburg is gorgeous, but oh wait, they’re playing in a dome. For shame. Enjoy the game.

Curtis Granderson Update: Granderson hit off a tee and soft toss today for the first time since suffering his fractured forearm. He continues to play catch as well, though there is no firm timetable for his return. Granderson said he thinks he’ll need 50-75 at-bats before he can rejoin the team — he missed all of Spring Training, remember — but the good news is he should be able to take advantage of the informal nature of Extended Spring Training and get like, ten at-bats a day.

Late Kevin Youkilis Update: Youkilis was a last-minute scratch because his stiff back starting acting again during batting practice.

Winning two out of three each series is a great way to have a successful season, but losing the finale when you have a chance to sweep is always annoying. Feels like such a lost opportunity. Unfortunately the Yankees have made a bit of a habit of that of late, dropping the finale to the Diamondbacks last week and then doing the same against the Blue Jays on Sunday. Toronto walked away with an 8-4 win.

(Tom Szczerbowski/Getty)

IvAAAn NovAAA
He needed the bullpen to allow some inherited runners to score, but Ivan Nova finished Sunday’s game with a line that was very representative of the way he pitched: four runs on four hits and four walks in five innings. Unimpressive, basically. Nova allowed the leadoff man to reach base in five of the six innings he started — the leadoff man has reached in eleven of the 16 innings he’s started this year — and threw only 39 of his 101 pitches from the windup. Thirteen of the 25 batters he faced saw a first pitch strike, including just one of the fist seven Blue Jays to bat. Typical, really.

Since last year’s All-Star break, Nova has now pitched to a 6.87 ERA with a near-.900 OPS against while averaging just 5.1 innings per start. It’s neither quantity nor quality at this point, he stinks when he’s on the mound and taxes the bullpen every five days. So what are the Yankees going to do about it? Probably nothing. Neither Michael Pineda nor Chien-Ming Wang is big league ready and David Phelps is basically the bullpen version of Nova right now. I guess they could stick Adam Warren or Vidal Nuno in the rotation, but I don’t see that happening. Nova can’t continue to live in this fantasy world were results don’t matter, however. At some point soon he either has to start pitching better or lose his rotation spot.

(Presswire)

The Impatiently Patient Rally
The Blue Jays jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first two innings, but the Yankees battled back in innings three through six and actually took the lead. Chris Stewart started the team’s scoring with a solo homer (!), but it wasn’t until the fifth inning that they really got to right-hander Josh Johnson.

The Yankees loaded the bases with one out on the strength of three singles before Travis Hafner, pretty much the best non-Robinson Cano hitter on the team, popped up into foul territory. It looked like the rally was going to be wasted, but instead Lyle Overbay and Eduardo Nunez drew back-to-back walks to force in both the game-tying and go-ahead runs. Johnson threw Overbay a full count breaking ball with two outs, which is … I don’t get it.

So, anyway, with two runs already in and Johnson having thrown seven straight balls out of the strike zone, Ichiro Suzuki naturally swung at the first pitch. Why? Who the hell knows. I guess he was hunting a first pitch fastball, but the point is he swung at the first pitch after Johnson had already walked two with the bases loaded and thrown seven straight balls. Ichiro weakly grounded out to second and the inning was over. Odds are he would have made an out and ended the rally anyway given his performance this year, but that’s a no-brainer “make him throw strike one before you swing” situation.

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

Death By Bullpen
As I mentioned earlier, the bullpen gets an assist for Nova’s ugly line. Boone Logan came out of the bullpen and allowed a game-tying two-run single to the only man he faced (Colby Rasmus) before the oh so ordinary Phelps really let things get out of hand over the final few innings. He allowed a two-run homer to J.P. Arencibia and five runs overall — three of his own and the two inherited runners.

Phelps has now allowed a total of nine runs — seven of his own and two inherited runners — in five innings across his last two appearances. The bullpen as a whole has surrendered 14 total runs in its last 10.1 innings. Most of that is Phelps obviously, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an issue. It can’t be Mariano Rivera and David Robertson and pray the starter goes deep.

(Presswire)

Leftovers
Hafner not only stole a base — the tenth of his career and first since 2010 — but he also laid down a bunt in an effort to beat the shift. It was a bad bunt and he was thrown out easily though, which isn’t terribly surprising. Bunting is hard and these sluggers who get shifted against don’t have much experience laying one day. Great idea in theory, not easy in practice.

Speaking of stolen bases, Brett Gardner finally stole his first of the season in game number 17. I get that you want to have men on base for Cano, but I don’t think that should mean abandoning the steal all together. When you’ve got an easy to steal against battery — like Johnson and Arencibia in this game — Gardner needs to run wild, especially in the early innings. If they pitch around Cano, so be it. The more base runners the merrier.

The wrap-around 8-9-1-2-3 portion of the lineup went a combined 10-for-21 with a double and a homer. The other four lineup spots went 1-for-13, including 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and that’s where the rallies went to die.

Vernon Wells wore out his former team this weekend, and in addition to two hits he also made a great jumping catch against the wall on Sunday. He grabbed the Edwin Encarnacion rocket and got the ball back to first in time to double off Jose Bautista. Have yourself a weekened, Verndog.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings
MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs the nerd score, and ESPN the updated standings.

Source: FanGraphs

Up Next
The Yankees are off to Tampa, their home away from home. CC Sabathia kicks off the three-game series against fellow left-hander Matt Moore on Monday night.