Yanks Go Yard Radio Show Rewind: Indians-Yankees Preview (8/20-8/23)

On last night’s episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, I started off the episode by talking about the New York Yankees (67-52) beginning their ten game homestand on a great note by sweeping the Minnesota Twins. New York did have a couple of injuries as Bryan Mitchell left the game in the second inning on Monday after being hit in the face on a line drive from Eduardo Nunez. Then, in the sixth inning, Mark Teixeira got hit in the leg and he’s been out of the lineup since due to deep bone bruise.

While the Yankees went on to win that game on a walk-off RBI groundout by Chase Headley, the story of the series was rookie first baseman Greg Bird. Filing in for Teixeira, Bird hit two two-run homers to lift the Yankees to a 4-3 win yesterday. With the Blue Jays losing last night, the Bronx Bombers enter tonight’s game with a two game lead in the AL East as they get to face the Cleveland Indians (55-63).

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Last week, the Indians took two out of three against the Yankees at Progressive Field, which included a 16-inning game won by Cleveland in the series opener. Since that series, Terry Francona’s club is 2-4 and has lost series to the Twins and Red Sox. So far, in the second half of the season, the Indians’ best hitter has been left fielder Michael Brantley. Brantley, who went 3-for-10 with a RBI against New York last week, is hitting .390 since the All-Star Break with four home runs and 19 RBI’s.

The big difference for the Indians compared to the last series against the Yankees is the return of second baseman Jason Kipnis. Kipnis, who returned to the lineup on Tuesday, is hitting .321 this season with six home runs, 39 RBI’s, and a .396 on-base percentage. Kipnis was activated off the disabled list when Chris Johnson was put on it because of a spider bite.

To get more information on the Indians, I spoke with Merritt Rohlfing, who is the host of the Wahoo’s On First Podcast. Merritt gave his take on the return of Kipnis to the lineup and some of the players that he’s watching down the stretch for Cleveland once the rosters expand. Here are some of the topics we discussed:

Takeaways from the last Indians-Yankees series
Chris Johnson on the DL with a spider bite
With Kipnis back, what role does Jose Ramirez have?
Pitching Matchup Breakdown
Josh Tomlin (tonight’s Indians’ starter) making his second start filling in for Cody Anderson
Will Ivan Nova (tonight’s Yankees’ starter) be hindered by his finger injury in his start tonight?
Carlos Carrasco (tomorrow’s Indians’ starter) has given up two runs or fewer in eight of his last ten starts.
Masahiro Tanaka (tomorrow’s Yankees’ starter) has given up seven home runs in his last four home starts.
Danny Salazar (Saturday’s Indians’ starter) has held opponents to a .142 batting average in his last six starts
Luis Severino (Saturday’s Yankees’ starter) coming off a nine strikeout outing against Toronto
Trevor Bauer (Sunday’s Indians starter) has given up 15 runs in his last 11.1 innings
C.C. Sabathia (Sunday’s Yankees’ starter) has walked three batters or more in three of his last five starts
Indians Hitters To Watch: Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley
Yankees Hitters To Watch: Alex Rodriguez and Greg Bird

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