YGY Radio Show Rewind: Tigers-Yankees Series Preview (8/4-8/7) + Yankees-Red Sox Postgame Show

Editor’s Note: The show was recorded LIVE during the Yankees-Red Sox Game Sunday night-BB

For this 90-minute episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, brought to you by Knoda.com, I started the show off by talking about some of the standout players during this past Yankees-Red Sox series. One of those players was Carlos Beltran, who has had a multi-hit game in each of his last six games. In the series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Beltran went 6-for-12 at the plate, with one home run and three RBI. This was impressive for the Yankees’ designated hitter, considering he is now hitting .360 against Boston this year. The other player that stood out in this past series was Stephen Drew. The former Red Sox’ shortstop, turned Yankees’ second baseman, had five RBI in the series, including a key two-run single in Sunday’s game that tied it at 7.

In the end, the New York Yankees (57-53) found a way to take two out of three from the Boston Red Sox to pull within five games of the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East, and 1.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the second Wild Card spot. The team also got good news on Sunday down in Scranton, where Michael Pineda threw 3.1 innings of shutout baseball on his first rehab start. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Pineda hit 94 miles per hour on the radar gun in his outing. Most likely, he will need two more starts before he comes back to the Yankees. However, his progress is big, considering that David Phelps left Sunday night’s win against Boston after two innings due to inflammation in his right elbow. Now, the Bronx Bombers get set for a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers for the first time this season at Yankee Stadium.

The AL Central leading Tigers (61-47) are coming off of a week where they swept the Colorado Rockies at home, but most importantly, they made a big splash at the Trade Deadline by acquiring Tampa Bay Rays’ ace David Price in a three-team trade that sent pitcher Drew Smyly to Tampa and center fielder Austin Jackson to Seattle. Price, who will make his Tigers’ debut against the Yankees, is 1-1 against New York this season with a 3.79. Manager Brad Ausmus is sending four great pitchers to the mound against New York in Max Scherzer, Price,  Justin Verlander, and 13-win pitcher Rick Porcello. For New York’s offense that has scored 14 runs in the last two games, it will be a huge test to see if they can keep the runs up against this quality of pitching.

That being said, the Yankees will have their hands full against a Tigers’ offense that is top ten in the league in home runs, runs scored, and batting average. With all the talk around designated hitter Victor Martinez (.321, 23 home runs, 65 RBI) and of course Miguel Cabrera (17 HRs, 83 RBI), but the surprise for Detroit has been left fielder J.D. Martinez. The 26-year-old is hitting .315 on the season in his fourth year in the league.

If Detroit is going to make it back to the World Series, they will need a more consistent effort from their bullpen. New closer Joe Nathan has blown five saves this season, and has a ERA of 5.45. Joakim Soria was brought in at the trade deadline to help this unit, but eighth-inning man and former Yankee Joba Chamberlain has excelled in his new role with 22 holds this year.

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For this episode, I spoke with Josie Parnell, the co-editor of Motor City Bengals, about the David Price deal as well as whether or not the leash should be longer for Joe Nathan as the closer of the team. Here are some of the topics Josie and I discussed on the show:

• David Price trade: Was it a response to the A’s trade for Jon Lester or as a replacement for potential free agent Max Scherzer?
• Ian Kinsler’s first season as Detroit’s second baseman
• Pitching Matchups
• Scherzer trying to build off a dominant July as the ace of the Tigers’ staff.
• Brandon McCarthy (Monday’s Yankees’ starter) looking to decrease the fly-ball outs
• Price vs. Hiroki Kuroda on Tuesday – Will we get another 2-1 repeat from their July 1st matchup?
• What’s been the main reason behind Justin Verlander‘s struggles this season?
• Chris Capuano (Wednesday’s Yankees’ starter) giving the team length at the back of the rotation
• Rick Porcello coming off of a ten strikeout game in his last start.
• Shane Greene (Thursday’s Yankees’ starter) looking for his first win at home this season
• Tigers’ Players To Watch: (Josie: Rajai Davis and Torii Hunter, Ricky: Nick Castellanos)
• Yankees’ Players To Watch: Stephen Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury
• Main reason behind Joba’s success in Detroit

On the second part of this show, I welcomed Joe Vitulli, one of our writers at Yanks Go Yard and Bombers’ Bites columnist to talk about his thoughts on the series vs. the Red Sox, what he expects from this upcoming series against the Tigers, Michael Pineda‘s potential return, Joba’s first series at Yankee Stadium with the member of the opposition, and much more…

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