Jeremy Guthrie (7-6, 4.29 ERA) and the Royals come to the Bronx to take on Phil Hughes (4-7, 4.55 ERA) and the Yankees in a three game set. Hughes has put together two solid starts as he tries to improve his season, holding the Rangers and Twins to three runs and 11 hits in 15 innings combined. He last faced the Royals on May 10th during the sweep, allowing six runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. “They had a lot of lefties in the lineup, and I felt like I was able to get my fastball inside to those guys, for the most part,” Hughes said. “I made a few critical pitches when I had to to get out of some jams, the offense did their job, and it was a good win.”
Guthrie pitched well against the Indians on Wednesday, but was done in by a freaky inside the park homerun and a light failure delay. With that no decision, he hasn’t won since June 10. In four starts at new Yankee Stadium, he’s just 1-3 with a 5.06 ERA.
After taking two of three from the Orioles over the weekend, the Yankees are 6-1 this month and haven’t experienced a losing July in the last 20 seasons. Their stretch of 19 straight winning records in the month, a Major League record for July, was snapped last year.
Notes on the game.
The Yankees are 14-3 against the AL Central, including a three game sweep against the Royals in May.
Despite blowing a save Sunday, Mariano Rivera has converted 29 of his 31 save opportunities this year and reached the 25 save plateau for the 16th time in his career, extending his all time record.
The Yankees are loaded with hitters that are familiar with Guthrie.
The complete list:
Robinson Cano 32 at bats .281 avg.
Vernon Wells 37 at bats .324 avg.
Lyle Overbay 35 at bats .286 avg.
Ichiro Suzuki 26 at at bats .269 avg.
Brett Gardner 12 at bats .417 avg.
*Billy Butler will NOT be at the Home Run Derby
*for those familiar with Yankees Royals history 🙂
