YGY Series Preview Show: Blue Jays-Yankees (8/20-8/22)

Was Sunday night the turning point for the season? That is what the New York Yankees (64-59) and their fans are hoping for after a 9-6 win against the Red Sox as they head into a four game series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium this week, including a doubleheader on Tuesday. After Ryan Dempster intentionally hit Alex Rodriguez in the 2nd inning, the Yankees rallied back from a 6-3 deficit to take two of three from Boston and win their third consecutive series. Once again, the offense is the story as the Yankees scored 19 combined runs in their two wins up at Fenway Park. Some of the highlights included Mark Reynolds hitting his first home run in a Yankee uniform, more hits for Alfonso Soriano, and Brett Gardner‘s bases clearing triple on Sunday to give the Yankees the win. Despite bad pitching from CC Sabathia, the Yankees now have a chance to gain some ground in the standings as they face a team that they dominated during the first half of the season.

and

will look to slug some home runs this week as the Blue Jays take on the Yankees. (Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

The Yankees haven’t played the Toronto Blue Jays (57-67) since the middle of May, and not much has changed for Toronto since then. The team is still in last place and has been one of the disappointments of the 2013 season. The pitching staff, which saw new additions during the offseason, has seen its fair share of injuries and inefficiencies as the Blue Jays are 28th in the MLB in ERA. That being said, Toronto can still put runs on the board against the Yankees considering they are sixth in MLB in runs scored and Edwin Encarnacion leads the team with 31 home runs, including four against the Yankees this season. If the Blue Jays do lead the game late, Casey Janssen has been a good surprise for John Gibbons as the closer has 22 saves this season in 24 chances, but has not pitched in almost a week. Can the Yankees continue their success against Toronto that they had earlier in the year when they were 8-1 against them and 6-0 at home?

On this episode of the Yanks Go Yard Series Preview Show, presented by BaldVinny.com (recorded Sunday night during Yankees-Red Sox), I discuss the latest A-Rod developments, including the intentional beanball that occurred during that game. What should MLB do in terms of punishment and this something the Yankees can expect the rest of the season from other teams? Plus, Alex Dineley from Jays Journal joins the show to discuss players to watch on the Blue Jays this series, the return of Jose Reyes and Munenori Kawasaki, plus players to keep an eye on when the rosters expand in September.

 CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE BLUE JAYS-YANKEES SERIES PREVIEW SHOW!