Game 72 Preview: Yankees Look To Keep On Rolling Against O’s

Jun 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda (18) pitches during the fourth inning against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

Coming off possibly their best series of the year, in which they both outpitched, and outhit the first place Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees will look to keep that momentum in their favor tonight as they host the Baltimore Orioles.

Hiroki Kuroda (4-5, 4.32 ERA) will start for the Yankees tonight. Kuroda hasn’t been the ace of the Yankees’ staff like he was around this time last season, but he has still been a solid piece to the Yankees’ rotation, always providing quality starts, and giving the team a chance to win.

Getting the start for the Orioles will be Ubaldo Jimenez (2-8, 4.86 ERA). Jimenez has struggled this season (note the record/ERA), but given his dominant past with the Colorado Rockies, he’s a guy who should never be taken too lightly.

The Orioles and the Yankees have been very similar in terms of production this season, the Orioles having only scored five more runs than the Yankees on the season (296-291), and the Yankees having only a slightly superior ERA than Baltimore (3.95-4.01), so it will be interesting to see how these teams match up this series.

Things to watch for…

Can Brian McCann Get Going? After hitting a two-run homer, and driving in three more runs on an RBI triple in the second game of the Toronto series, it looked as if Brian McCann had finally found his stroke. But although he had some good at-bats yesterday, it still did not translate into a single hit. We’ll see if that changes tonight.

Gardner Hot Streak: Over the last week Brett Gardner has been tearing it up offensively. He is 10 for his last 24 (.417 BA), and has also hit two home runs during that span. Will it continue tonight?

Slumping Solarte: After getting off to such a hot start to the season, Yankees’ third baseman Yangervis Solarte has been mired in a terrible slump of late. He is 0 for his last 24 his batting average has dropped all the way to .270, and so has his spot in the order. We’ll see if he can break out of it tonight.