New York Yankees Series Preview With The Baltimore Orioles

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Mandatoryi Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Series Overview

The New York Yankees look to pick themselves back up after blowing a very winnable series over the past weekend to the Cleveland Indians. The Bombers hit a whopping .208 for the series, and their team batting average was only that high because of a 10-run outburst during the series opener Friday night. The bats were once again silenced–a theme throughout the entire season, and now they get to travel to first place Baltimore for a three-game set that could accomplish one of two things.

The first, is if the Yankees can sweep or win two out of three, they keep themselves in the thick of both the divisional race as well as the chase for one of the two wild card spots. The second, is if the Bombers allow the Orioles to have their way with them, just as they have for most of the season, and the bats continue to fail to hit, and a sweep occurs, the Yankees could conceivably be all but eliminated from playoff contention for the second year in a row, by the second week of August. Not quite the way that Captain Derek Jeter and the boys had envisioned his final season in pinstripes. This team has been plagued by injuries and dead bats for the duration, and it’ll take a championship effort to stave off another series loss to the best team in the American League East.

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Game One

Journeyman lefty Chris Capuano (1-2, 3.91 ERA) attempts to repeat his last performance, as he outpitched former AL MVP and Cy Young winner, Justin Verlander in a Yankees’ victory. In that outing, Capuano tossed 6 2/3 innings, allowing only one unearned run, while scattering 5 hits and striking out 8. Cap hasn’t made a start against the Orioles this season, but has tossed 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen, allowing 2 earned runs.

In 29 career at-bats against the current group of Orioles, Capuano has actually had some success. The O’s are only hitting .207 lifetime, with no home runs, 6 RBI, 4 walks and 9 Ks. If he can continue to give quality starts each time out, it will once again fall on the Yankees’ Padres-esque lineup to try and put up enough runs to snag a road win.

Opposing Capuano is Bud Norris (9-7, 3.68 ERA), who is having a very solid year for the first place O’s. The Yankees, whose bats went silent against the Indians this weekend, have had some success against Norris. Stephen Drew (6-for-13, 1 2B, 1 3B), Carlos Beltran (8-for-26, 5 2Bs) and Chase Headley (4-for-12) could have a solid game as the Yankees try to stay in contention in both the AL East and the Wild Card.

Game Two

Another of the unsung heroes for the Yankees this season, is rookie Shane Greene (3-1, 2.89 ERA). He almost recorded his first career complete game, until needing help in the 9th from the Yankees lock down bullpen. Greene will get the ball in Game 2. He has one previous start against the Blackbirds, and he was masterful.

In 7 1/3 innings, Greene scattered four hits, struck out 9 Orioles’ hitters, and didn’t allow a single run. He beat Chris Tillman, and led the Yankees to a 3-0 victory. If the Bombers are going to have any success in this series, Shane Greene will be a key component. Again, he can’t hit, so if the Yankees’ bats can give him any support, it should be a good day for the pinstripers.

Opposing the Yankees in Game 2, will be lefty Wei-Yin Chen. The Bombers have had decent success against him over his short career, with the current group hitting .270 with 3 bombs and 16 driven in. Chen had his five-game winning streak halted last Wednesday, as he allowed four runs in five innings. It was Chen’s first loss since the start of June. Derek Jeter (4-for-17) and Jacoby Ellsbury (6-for-13) have had the most sustained success.

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Game Three

The long-awaited, and much anticipated return of Michael Pineda (2-2, 1.83 ERA) will occur Wednesday for the series finale. Pineda has been out since April 23rd, after first being suspended for an illegal substance on his person (pine tar), and then suffering multiple setbacks while attempting to rehab from an injury that happened while trying to stay sharp while on suspension.

You want to talk about boost the starting rotation. If the Yankees have any hope of gaining ground in both the division and the wild card, they will need a healthy Pineda to help shoulder the burden and give them quality outings for the rest of the season. There is no sense in going into his numbers historically against Baltimore or any of their hitters, because he’s been hurt so much, his past starts have no bearing on Wednesday’s outing. This should be must-see TV if you are a Yankees’ fan however.

On the other side, if Orioles’ staff ace Chris Tillman (9-5, 3.73). This is another story of none of Baltimore’s starting pitchers being great, but all of them are as solid as it gets, and as a result, the O’s are firmly planted in first place in the AL East. It might be a little judgmental to say the Yankees own Tillman, but they’ve had extended success against him since he arrived in the big leagues.

This current batch of Yankees’ hitters are hitting .285 career against Tillman, with 5 long balls and 22 RBI. Leading the way, is the return of first baseman Mark Teixeira, who is 5-for-15 career against Tillman.

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Player To Watch: Mark Teixeira

One of the sole consistent power sources for the Yankees this season, Tex needs to have a big series if the Yankees are going to have any success. The Baltimore product likes playing in front of the friends and family in his home state of Maryland, so expect big things now that Tex is back in the lineup.

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Tex is going to look to bounce back against the Orioles who he, like most of the Bombers in 2014 have struggled against. He is only 4-for-19, but does have a home run and 3 RBI in 6 games. His glove is always important to a shaky Yankees’ defense, but it’s hit middle-of-the-order thunder that lengthens the lineup. With Brian McCann being on the 7-day disabled list with concussion symptoms, the Yankees will lean on their first baseman to provide some offensive spark and to drive in runs when Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury are on base in front of him. The fact that he has good history against the Game 3 starter, Chris Tillman, should bode well for Tex.

Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Series Prediction

Well, I took it on the chin over the weekend from the Indians. It didn’t help that the Yankees’ bats went completely flatline after a 10-run outburst to start the series. With McCann out, and the bats having been cold over the weekend at home, I don’t see much changing. As good as Chris Capuano, Shane Greene, and Michael Pineda will pitch, it won’t be enough for the Yankees to use their weapon of choice: the bullpen. It’s going to be a quiet weekend for David Robertson and the boys, as the Yankees won’t get a lead worthy of saving to the big boys in the ‘pen.

Thanks to our friends at Knoda.com, we use the game predictor app and let you the reader, compete against us and our picks. So, without further delay, I’m going to say the Yankees lose two of three this weekend, winning only the Greene start, but a score of 5-1. What do you think? Cast your vote now!

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