Game 99 Preview: Yankees vs Rangers

The Yankees are coming into Tuesday night looking to bounce back from an up and down game against the Rangers. The Yankees committed a whopping 5 errors, 3 made by starting pitcher Shane Greene. On the flip side, Greene did look impressive, and has continued the trend of young pitchers stepping up for the Yankees.

Chase Whitley will be making the start against Texas. He’s 4-3 with a 5.10 ERA, and has been struggling to find his form from his first few starts when he was having a lot of success.  Chase has failed to go at least 5 innings in his last five starts, his worst came against the Twins, when he gave up 4 runs in just 3 innings.  The Rangers starter is Nick Martinez. He’s 1-6 with a 5.10 ERA. This looks to be a good match up for the Yankees, as Martinez is returning from the disabled list and has been struggling all year long.

Mark Teixeira, who will miss at least 4 days due to a minor lat strain, gave a little insight to MLB.com on his injury and how he’s feeling. “Throwing, hitting – anything with any type of rotation, it’s been pretty painful,” said Teixeira, who has team highs of 17 home runs and 48 RBIs. “The spasms, unfortunately, have gone from my neck to my lower back, up and down the whole time.” Teixeira will obviously miss this game but should be back before next week.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Jacoby Ellsbury is still on fire.  He had a nice game last night, getting two hits, which included a homer. He is hitting .295 over his last nine games.

Rusty Nick Martinez.  As mentioned above, the Rangers’ Nick Martinez is coming off the DL. This should be a great opportunity to jump on a pitcher who was already struggling. Martinez gave up 8 runs, and three homers his last time out against the orioles.

The Return of Alex Rios.  Alex Rios should be returning to the Rangers’ lineup, after missing 2 games with a sprained right ankle. This will make the Rangers’ line up that much more dangerous.