Series Preview: Yankees Head To Baltimore To Make A Dent

Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

 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.