New York Yankees Close Series At Cleveland Indians
The New York Yankees haven’t needed much help lately, but they’ll get a big boost to their rotation on Wednesday when Phil Hughes pitches at the Cleveland Indians.
ESPN will have the series finale from Progressive Field at 4:05 p.m. (PT). Hard-luck Justin Masterson (6-6, 2.85 ERA) goes for the Tribe.
New York lost the first game of the series 6-3, with shortstop Derek Jeter returning from his calf injury and going 0-for-4 while batting leadoff. He’s still stuck on 2,994 hits. The Yankees have now lost two straight after winning their previous seven.
Game 2 on Tuesday night was still pending with the Yankees a 150 favorite behind ace CC Sabathia. New York has the best record in the American League (50-33) and a 1.5-game lead over Boston in the AL East standings.
Wednesday’s game is marked by another big injury story in Hughes. He was 0-1 with a 13.94 ERA in three April starts before going on the DL (shoulder inflammation). His velocity was a big problem, clocked consistently under 90 mph after averaging 92-94 last year.
The 25-year-old right-hander had a cortisone shot in his right shoulder in late April and mostly had his fastball back in his rehab starts. He struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings in his last start for Double-A Trenton on June 30. That means he’ll be pitching on an extra day’s rest.
The Yankees were expecting big things from Hughes after going 18-8 last season. They also sent down a pretty good pitcher in Ivan Nova (8-4, 4.12 ERA), so Hughes will need to prove he’s healthy right from the start.
Hughes is 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA in three lifetime starts versus Cleveland, 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in two starts at Progressive.
Cleveland (45-38) is 4-1 in its last five games after an awful stretch of 11-22. The offense has struggled after a great April (5.42 runs per game, tops in the AL). Having outfielder Shin-Soo-Choo (thumb) and first baseman Matt LaPorta (ankle) out isn’t helping.
The ‘under’ is 7-1-1 in Cleveland’s last nine home games and 13-6-3 in the last 22 overall.
Masterson’s 2.85 ERA easily leads Tribe starters with Carlos Carrasco next (3.54). The sinkerballer actually has the lowest strikeout rate of his career (6.33), but he’s allowed just four home runs and his OPS allowed is also a career-low (.662).
The 26-year-old right-hander allowed just one earned run over eight innings at Cincinnati last Friday. It was incredibly his first win since April (starting 5-0), with Cleveland going 2-8 in his prior 10 starts despite his 3.43 ERA. Cleveland scored 17 total runs in those 10 games.
This is Masterson’s first start against the Yankees this year. He’s 1-2 with a 3.80 ERA in seven lifetime appearance against them (three starts). Most of those outings came with Boston. He did pitch at Yankee Stadium with the Tribe last year (three earned runs over 6 2/3 innings in a 7-3 loss).
Cleveland has won the last two games against New York after dropping the first three this year. New York was 6-2 against Cleveland last year (3-1 home and away).
Cleveland is 25-14 at home this year (+11.5 units, best in the AL). New York is 22-15 on the road (+6.0 units, second best in the AL).
The ‘under’ is 12-3-1 in New York’s last 16 road games.
Marty Foster will call balls and strikes and his trends favor New York. The Yanks are 11-1 in his last 12 games behind home plate. The Indians are 3-10 in his last 13 games behind the dish.
Weather will be warm, around 80 degrees, with scattered thunderstorms. Both teams start 4-game home series on Thursday. The Yanks have a huge set with Tampa Bay, while Cleveland welcomes Toronto
The New York Yankees haven’t needed much help lately, but they’ll get a big boost to their rotation on Wednesday when Phil Hughes pitches at the Cleveland Indians.
ESPN will have the series finale from Progressive Field at 4:05 p.m. (PT). Hard-luck Justin Masterson (6-6, 2.85 ERA) goes for the Tribe.
New York lost the first game of the series 6-3, with shortstop Derek Jeter returning from his calf injury and going 0-for-4 while batting leadoff. He’s still stuck on 2,994 hits. The Yankees have now lost two straight after winning their previous seven.
Game 2 on Tuesday night was still pending with the Yankees a 150 favorite behind ace CC Sabathia. New York has the best record in the American League (50-33) and a 1.5-game lead over Boston in the AL East standings.
Wednesday’s game is marked by another big injury story in Hughes. He was 0-1 with a 13.94 ERA in three April starts before going on the DL (shoulder inflammation). His velocity was a big problem, clocked consistently under 90 mph after averaging 92-94 last year.
The 25-year-old right-hander had a cortisone shot in his right shoulder in late April and mostly had his fastball back in his rehab starts. He struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings in his last start for Double-A Trenton on June 30. That means he’ll be pitching on an extra day’s rest.
The Yankees were expecting big things from Hughes after going 18-8 last season. They also sent down a pretty good pitcher in Ivan Nova (8-4, 4.12 ERA), so Hughes will need to prove he’s healthy right from the start.
Hughes is 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA in three lifetime starts versus Cleveland, 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in two starts at Progressive.
Cleveland (45-38) is 4-1 in its last five games after an awful stretch of 11-22. The offense has struggled after a great April (5.42 runs per game, tops in the AL). Having outfielder Shin-Soo-Choo (thumb) and first baseman Matt LaPorta (ankle) out isn’t helping.
The ‘under’ is 7-1-1 in Cleveland’s last nine home games and 13-6-3 in the last 22 overall.
Masterson’s 2.85 ERA easily leads Tribe starters with Carlos Carrasco next (3.54). The sinkerballer actually has the lowest strikeout rate of his career (6.33), but he’s allowed just four home runs and his OPS allowed is also a career-low (.662).
The 26-year-old right-hander allowed just one earned run over eight innings at Cincinnati last Friday. It was incredibly his first win since April (starting 5-0), with Cleveland going 2-8 in his prior 10 starts despite his 3.43 ERA. Cleveland scored 17 total runs in those 10 games.
This is Masterson’s first start against the Yankees this year. He’s 1-2 with a 3.80 ERA in seven lifetime appearance against them (three starts). Most of those outings came with Boston. He did pitch at Yankee Stadium with the Tribe last year (three earned runs over 6 2/3 innings in a 7-3 loss).
Cleveland has won the last two games against New York after dropping the first three this year. New York was 6-2 against Cleveland last year (3-1 home and away).
Cleveland is 25-14 at home this year (+11.5 units, best in the AL). New York is 22-15 on the road (+6.0 units, second best in the AL).
The ‘under’ is 12-3-1 in New York’s last 16 road games.
Marty Foster will call balls and strikes and his trends favor New York. The Yanks are 11-1 in his last 12 games behind home plate. The Indians are 3-10 in his last 13 games behind the dish.
Weather will be warm, around 80 degrees, with scattered thunderstorms. Both teams start 4-game home series on Thursday. The Yanks have a huge set with Tampa Bay, while Cleveland welcomes Toronto
