Yanks Go Yard Radio Show Rewind: Phillies-Yankees Preview (6/22-6/24)

By Ricky Keeler | Jun 22, 2015

On last night’s episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, brought to you by KNODA.com, I started off the episode by talking about the New York Yankees (38-31) taking two out of three games from the Detroit Tigers over the weekend. On Friday night, it was Alex Rodriguez’s turn to make more history as he had his 3,000^th career hit on a solo home run off Justin Verlander in the first inning.

Then, on Saturday, it was Old Timers’ Day as the Yankees honored Willie Randolph with a plaque in Monument Park and surprised former pitcher and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre with a plaque of his own. That night, the Bronx Bombers brought out the bats as they put up 14 runs in a win over the Tigers.

While Sunday afternoon’s game featured a rough outing from Masahiro Tanaka, New York was able to take two of three and are now 12-6 in the month of June. Last night, news also came down from the minor leagues that outfield prospect Aaron Judge, who had 12 home runs with the double-A Trenton Thunder, was promoted to triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre to join top pitching prospect, Luis Severino.

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The Yankees will conclude their eight-game homestand this week by taking on the Philadelphia Phillies (24-47). This month, Philadelphia has a dismal 5-14 record and the season has been worse than what fans expected when the year began. Ryne Sandberg’s club is last in baseball in runs scored, second to last in home runs (42), and has the second lowest on-base percentage (.288).

While Ryan Howard does have 13 home runs this season, it’s been the other veterans who have struggled mightily in 2015. Second baseman Chase Utley is hitting .182 with four home runs and 15 RBI’s and catcher Carlos Ruiz is hitting .229 and does not have a home run. That being said, third baseman Maikel Franco has made a good first impression. In 35 games, he is hitting .294 with seven home runs and 19 RBI’s.

As far as their pitching is concerned, two of their big names are on the trading block. In the rotation, it’s all about Cole Hamels. Hamels, who will start Wednesday’s afternoon game, is 5-5 with a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts and has held opponents to a .213 batting average. Even though Hamels has had a good season, the Phillies’ rotation has a 4.84 ERA, which is the third lowest in the National League.

In the bullpen, the Yankees will see a very familiar face in former closer Jonathan Papelbon. Even though he doesn’t get many opportunities to close, the 34-year-old has 13 saves in 14 chances, a 1.30 ERA, and has struck out 32 batters in 27.2 innings. Another name to watch in the late innings is Ken Giles, who has a 1.80 ERA in 31 appearances as the setup man.

To get more information on the Phillies heading into tonight’s series opener, I spoke with Matthew Veasey, the editor of That Ball’s Outta Here to talk about Hamels, Papelbon, and how hot is the hot seat for general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and manager Ryne Sanberg. Here are some of the other topics we discussed:

Sandberg being put in a bad spot because of the lack of talent
Amaro Jr. hanging on to veterans too long.
Pitching Matchup Breakdown
Kevin Correia (tonight’s Phillies starter) has given up two earned runs in two starts with the club
Michael Pineda (tonight’s Yankees starter) has two walks in each of his last three outings
Sean O’Sullivan (tomorrow’s Phillies starter) coming into the Bronx after giving up one run in five innings against the Orioles
CC Sabathia (tomorrow’s Yankees starter) has not walked a batter in two straight outings
Any concern on Hamels after being scratched from his start this past weekend?
Who should the Yankees start on Wednesday afternoon? Adam Warren or Ivan Nova?
Phillies Hitters To Watch: Maikel Franco and Domonic Brown
Yankees Hitters To Watch: Brett Gardner and Carlos Beltran
Phillies Prospects To Watch the rest of the season
Thoughts on the NL East right now

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