Yankees-Rays Series Preview: The Best Teams in Baseball Collide
May 19, 2010 · Jordan Schwartz · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Coming off a wild two-game series split with the Red Sox, the Yankees conclude their home stand with an even more important pair of contests against the first-place Rays.
New York (25-14) trails Tampa Bay (28-11) by three games in the American League East, and the two clubs have the best records in baseball.
That’s mostly thanks to the fact they have the two best pitching staffs. The Yanks’ team ERA is 3.69, but the Rays are a full run better at 2.69.
Since pitching will be the focus of this series, let’s take a look at the matchups.
Wednesday, May 19: A.J. Burnett (4-1, 3.31) vs. Wade Davis (3-3, 3.38)
Burnett bounced back from his nine-run, 4.1-inning performance at Fenway Park on May 9 by allowing two earned in 6.2 against the Twins in his last start. But the right-hander’s control was once again an issue as he yielded four walks.
The 33-year-old gave up two runs in seven innings to beat the Rays, 7-3, on April 11, improving his career mark versus Tampa Bay to an impressive 12-4 with a 2.76 ERA in 22 outings.
Carl Crawford (16-for-47, .340) and Evan Longoria (9-for-27, .333) are the only Rays to have any real success facing Burnett.
Meanwhile, B.J. Upton is 6-for-31 (.194) with a ridiculous 15 strikeouts, Carlos Pena is 3-for-29 (.103) with 12 K’s, Dioner Navarro is 6-for-28 (.214), and recent call-up Hank Blalock is 2-for-14 (.143).
After opening 3-1 with a 2.79 ERA, Davis has surrendered six runs over 11 innings in his last two starts, losing both of them.
His other defeat this season came to the Yankees on April 10, when he allowed four runs and 11 baserunners in six frames.
That dropped the second-year pitcher’s career record against New York to 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA. He’s never pitched in the Bronx, and the Bombers’ roster hits .357 off him.
Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter are each 3-for-6 (.500), and Brett Gardner is 2-for-3 (.667). Nick Swisher, however, is 0-for-4 with a strikeout, so he’ll probably be out of the lineup again as he continues to nurse a biceps injury.
Thursday, May 20: Andy Pettitte (5-0, 1.79) vs. James Shields (4-1, 3.00)
Pettitte showed no ill effects of elbow inflammation or the fact that his last start was skipped when he tossed 6.1 shutout innings to beat the Twins in his most recent outing. The veteran ranks second in the American League in wins and ERA, and he’s 4-0 with a 2.01 ERA at home.
The left-hander is 16-5 with a 3.81 ERA in 29 career games (28 starts) against the Rays.
Crawford (12-for-39, .308), Pena (11-for-35, .314, four homers), Jason Bartlett (7-for-18, .389), and Ben Zobrist (4-for-12, .333) have all had success facing Pettitte.
But Longoria is 2-for-16 (.125) with nine strikeouts, Blalock is 2-for-11 (.182), and Willy Aybar is 1-for-11 (.091).
Shields struck out 10 batters in his last start against the Mariners, bringing his season K total to 59, second most in the AL.
His shortest outing of the season came back on April 11, when he surrendered two runs in 5.1 innings versus the Yanks. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise because the right-hander has never had success against New York, racking up a 1-7 record with a 5.76 ERA in 10 career starts. He’s even worse at Yankee Stadium (1-3, 6.35).
Jeter (12-for-33, .364) and Robinson Cano (12-for-26, .462, two homers) have killed Shields, but he’s held in check Jorge Posada (4-for-19, .211), Mark Teixeira (3-for-19, .158, 10 K’s), A-Rod (4-for-17, .235), and Swisher (2-for-11, .182).
Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison.
Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.
Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com
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