With the Yanks now just 2.5 games out of the wild card, Hiroki Kuroda (11-10, 2.89 ERA) takes on Chris Sale (10-12, 2.99 ERA) in hopes of gaining more ground. Kuroda will also hope to stop the bleeding after two straight rough outings. The right hander was blasted for seven runs against the Rays on Aug. 23 and five more against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. Chris Stewart wondered afterward if Kuroda’s mechanics were out of whack or if he was just tiring during August, when he went was 1-4. Either way, batters are hitting Kuroda hard. “It feels like, against the hitters, they’re getting good timing off me,” Kuroda said. “And it feels like that’s happening quite a lot.”
Sale set a single season franchise record with his fourth start of 12 strikeouts or more, breaking a previous tie with Javier Vazquez and Ed Walsh. With his 12 strikeouts against the Astros, he set a single season personal high at 193 strikeouts. Sale is 2-0 with a 0.49 ERA in five career games (two starts) against the Yankees, most recently on August 6th when he held them to one unearned run over 7 1/3 innings. A win in either of the final two games of the series would give the White Sox consecutive season series victories against the Yankees for the first time since 1993-95.
Notes on the game.
Robinson Cano has hit safely in 20 of his last 26 games, batting .378 with eight doubles, four home runs and 19 RBIs.
The Yankees are 15-7 in their last 22 games.
First pitch at 7:05 PM on Yes.
