Game 103 Yankees vs. Blue Jays
By Joe Vitulli
The newest Yankee Chris Capuano will take the mound this afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays in the middle game of this three-game set. Capuano was acquired from the Rockies a few days ago for cash considerations. The lefty will be taking on the powerful Blue Jays’ lineup which is only one game behind the Bombers in the race for the second Wild Card. He will be opposed by Drew Hutchinson. The veteran righthander is 6-9 with a 4.54 ERA this season for the Blue Jays.
The Yankees are coming into the game hot. They have won four straight games, and are 7-1 on their first homestand after the All Star Break. The pitching has been fantastic to begin the second half, but the lineup has also showed resiliency battling back for come from behind wins several times already.
"“We’ve had some timely hitting. We’ve pitched extremely well. You look at a lot of the scores, they’ve been fairly low-scoring games. Our bullpen has continued to do a good job. Our starters have done a good job. You look at (Hiroki Kuroda’s) night last night, he gives up three in the first and then he pretty much shut them down the rest of the game and gave us a chance to come back. I think that’s the important thing. We’ve been able to come back in some of the games. But it’s just I think our pitching has been really good. You look at this homestand and that’s one of the reasons we’ve won a lot of games.” Joe Giradi remarked on his team’s recent success. (h/t Chad Jennings, The LoHud Blog)"
Game Notes:
- Latest Yankee: Today’s starter, Chris Capuano, will be the 27th pitcher for the Yankees this season and the 46th player overall to play for the Bombers this season.
- Head(ley) of the Class: In four games since being acquired by the Yankees, Chase Headley is batting .429 (6-for-14) with 2 runs, 2 doubles and 2 RBI.
- Cervelli Showcase: Francisco Cervelli will be behind the plate yet again this afternoon. He has been playing a lot lately with Mark Teixeira out of the lineup, and the extended look may be doubling as a showcase of the young catcher for a possible trade. Scouts from the White Sox and Rockies among other teams have been confirmed to be in the stands scouting Cervelli’s last few games.