Game 124 Preview: Yankees vs. Astros

Aug 17, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees catcher

(34) singled during the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Game Overview

The Yankees will take the field tonight trying to put a demoralizing loss last night behind them.  In a game in which they received an uneven performance from starter Chris Capuano, the Bombers managed to tie the game up in the sixth inning.  However, closer David Robertson imploded in the ninth inning of a tie game, walking two before giving up a three-run homer to Chris Carter, losing the game for the Yankees.  The loss put the Yankees four games out from the second Wild Card spot.

The Yankee offense will need to build on yesterday’s hitting.  Catcher Brian McCann hit a two-run home run and Jacoby Ellsbury and Martin Prado each had three hits in the loss.   The Yankee offense has been dismal all year, but has shown signs of improvement at home.  McCann has 12 home runs at Yankee Stadium.  Ellsbury is hitting .328 at home, including .464 in his last eight home games.  Taking advantage of the short porch in right field will be crucial for the Yankees as they look to provide more pop in their lineup.

Overcoming a four game deficit for the last playoff spot is not an easy task.  However, the sport is littered with examples of teams overcoming those odds to make the playoffs.  The Yankees are not out of it yet, although each loss, especially losses that should have been wins, closes the door to the playoffs a little bit more.  The Yankees need to start winning games consistently and avoid prolonged losing streaks.  The Yankees have won 2 of their last 3 and need to build on that and avoid the losing that leads to losing 6 of 8 which the Yankees has also done.  A win today would be a step in the right direction for the Bombers.

Aug 11, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher

(35) pitches in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Pitching Matchup

Right-hander Michael Pineda will make his first start at Yankee Stadium since April on Wednesday night against the Astros.  The lineup behind him will look vastly different from the one that he pitched in front of back in April.  Hopefully, Pineda will be able to pitch as effectively as he did at that time and without the use of pine tar.  Pineda was dominant in his first start since coming off the DL against Baltimore, but showed signs of tiring after only five innings.   He allowed only two hits but is still regaining arm strength and escalating his pitch count after nearly four months on the DL.

Pineda will likely be on some sort of pitch count again today, but hopefully he will be able to be a little more economical with his pitches than he has been this season.  Adam Warren, Shawn Kelley, Dellin Betances, and David Robertson all pitched yesterday, leaving the Yankee bullpen a little worn out for today’s contest.  Pineda will need to be able to give the Bombers some length today.

On the mound for the Astros will Scott Feldman, who beat the Yankees on Opening Day.  On the season, Feldman is 8-9 with a 4.48 ERA as the de facto ace of the Astros rotation.  In his last start, Feldman pitched poorly against the Red Sox.  He cruised through the first five innings in that game against the last place Boston lineup but imploded in the six inning.  The Red Sox scored six times in the inning while Feldman was only able to record a single out.

Aug 17, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees shortstop

(2) at bat during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Players to Watch

The Yankee Captain has spent the majority of this season reaching and surpassing milestones.  Yesterday he had one of those milestones taken away, or delayed, or nothing really happened, depending on how you look at it.  Yesterday, Joe Torre, in his role as Vice President of Major League Baseball made a scoring change on an infield single that Jeter hit on August 8^th in Cleveland.  The hit was changed to an error by Indians first baseman Carlos Santana.  That hit originally moved Jeter into a tie with Honus Wagner for sixth place on the all-time list, with Jeter taking sole possession the next day.  Now, according to the scoring change Jeter tied Wagner on August 9^th and passed him on August 11^th in Baltimore.

Thus Jeter has one less hit than he started the week with but is still firmly in the record books as having accumulated the sixth most hits in the history of baseball.  Jeter will likely finish the season and ultimately his career in sixth place due to his impending retirement, so in the grand scheme of things it may seem like a mostly trivial change.  However, the fiercely competitive Jeter joked about having to go “beat up” his onetime manager, Torre, to set things right when told of the change.

Jeter will look to add to his all-time (corrected) total of 3435 hits tonight as he gets the start at shortstop.  In 13 games in his career against Houston, Jeter has 10 hits and 8 RBI.  He is hitting .273 in his career against tonight’s starter Scott Feldman., most of those at bats having taken place when Feldman was a member of Baltimore Orioles.

Aug 17, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees first baseman

(25) hits a solo home run during the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Keys to Victory

The Yankees need to score runs to win ballgames.  The Yankee offense this season has dreadful.  The team has very little power, especially from the right side.  Only Mark Teixeira has been a consistent power source for the Yankees all season with his team leading 20 home runs.  Of course, he has spent over a month on DL and missed several other games due to various injuries over the course of the season.  The big name free agents, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann have largely failed to meet the expectations thrust upon them at their signings.  Brett Gardner, the formerly light hitting left fielder and leadoff man, is second on the team in long balls with 15.

The Yankees need to score runs early and often against a somewhat suspect pitching staff like the Astros.  The Astros starter, Scott Feldman, has an ERA approaching 5 and had yielded seven runs in 5 1/3 innings in his last start against the Red Sox.  The Bombers need to be patient and take advantage of their home ball park.  The Yankees need to create some souvenirs for the fans and take the Astros pitching staff deep.

The Yankees have not been able to crack the five run plateau in their last eight games.  In fact, they have been held to four or fewer runs in 65% of their games this season for a whooping total of 80 games.  The Yankee bats need to wake up from their prolonged slumber and do some damage.  The Yankees need to score and early and often be successful today and for the rest of the season.