I thought yesterday’s game was a “must-win” but unfortunately the Yankees lost. Now the pressure has grown and they need a win to prevent a 6 game losing streak. Things are not looking good for the Yanks who just got swept by the Red Sox up in the Bronx. Of course that was not even the story of the weekend, as the Posada drama kept everyone distracted. The Yankees have now lost 9 of their last 12 games and are two games over .500, barely holding on to second place in the AL East.
With a record of 23-17 the Rays are in first place in the AL East. They are coming off a tough series against the Orioles where they dropped 2 out of 3. It’s going to be a tough series with Tampa throwing their aces against the offensively struggling Yankees
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Monday: AJ Burnett (4-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. David Price (5-3, 3.12 ERA)
-Burnett had a big game against the Royals last week allowing only 1 run over 7 innings.
-Burnett is 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA in his last three starts
-Burnett has a 12-7 record in 25 career starts at Tampa, with a 3.15 ERA.
-Evan Longoria is hitting .375 off Burnett in 32 plate appearances
-Price got the win in his last start against the Indians, allowing only 2 runs over 8 innings, while striking out 7
-Swisher is hitting .357 off Price in 14 at bats
-Price is 19-7 in 32 appearances at Tropicana Field with a 2.40 ERA
-Price is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA against the Yankees, all time.
-Highly unlikely that Posada will start tonight’s game as he is 0-24 against lefties this year and 1-18 against Price in his career. That’s OK as Andruw Jones is hitting .300 off Price in 10 at bats with 2 home runs.
Tuesday: Ivan Nova (3-3, 4.70 ERA) vs. James Shields (4-1, 2.08 ERA)
-Nova allowed 8 runs (4 ER) and 10 hits in his last appearance against the Royals last Thursday.
-Nobody on the Rays has more than 5 at bats against Ivan Nova
-Shields is 1-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 4 starts at the Trop this year
-Shields has gone 7 innings in his past 6 starts.
-Shields allowed only 2 runs on 7 hits over 7 innings against the Indians last Thursday.
-Shields is 2-0 over his last three starts with 1.61 ERA and 24 Strikeouts.
-Shields is 3-8 with a 4.91 ERA against the Yankees, all time.
-Cano is hitting .390 over 41 at bats against Shields
-Jeter is hitting .340 over 50 at bats against Shields
-Posada is hitting .296 over 27 at bats against Shields
YANKEES NOTES
-Rafael Soriano was not available to pitch this weekend due to an elbow issue. Everyone is claiming it isn’t serious but Soriano won’t be available this series against the Rays. He will throw a bullpen tonight and if all goes well, he could be available by Wednesday.
-The Yankees have not been swept by Boston in the Bronx since 2004 & have not lost a series against Kansas City in the Bronx since 1999!
-The Yankees are only 7 for their last 44 with Runners In Scoring Position.
-In case you haven’t heard, Posada is 0-24 against lefties this season.
-Brett Gardner is batting .377 in his last 18 games with 11 walks!
-Curtis Granderson now leads the Yankees with 13 home runs. He has the 2nd most homers behind Jose Bautista.
-Granderson has hit 5 home runs in the last 9 games.
-Ken Singleton will be back in the broadcast booth tonight after an extended hiatus for a death in the family. Hoping all is well for Kenny and his family!
RAYS NOTES
-Rays closer, Kyle Farsnworth will not pitch in this series due to injury. Farnsy has received a save in 7 of the 8 attempts he had this season, only allowing 1 walk in 13 innings… yes this is the same Farsnworth in case you were wondering.
-The Rays are only 7 for their last 35 with Runners in Scoring Position.
-The Rays have scored 2 runs or fewer in 10 of the 22 home games they have played this season.
-The Rays are only 10-12 at home this season
-The Rays have scored 50 more runs on the road than at home this season
COUNTDOWN TO 3000
-Jeter only needs 35 more hits to become the 28th player to hit 3000 career hits
POSADA NOTES (Don't forget what Jorge has done for this team)
-5 All Star Game appearances
-5 Silver Slugger awards
-2 Top-10 MVP Finishes
-Career .277/.380/.479 hitter
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