Vidal Nuno (0-0, 6.87 ERA) and Hector Santiago (0-0, 5.01 ERA) will be on the mound tonight both looking for their first win of the season. Nuno worked 4 1/3 innings his last time out against the Angels, allowing three runs and taking a no decision. He will feel right at home in Anaheim having grown up down the coast in the San Diego suburb of National City, Cali. He is making his fourth start and seventh appearance overall on the season.
Santiago has been pitching better then his line indicates. Five of the 18 earned runs charged to him have come against a reliever, and he had the sixth lowest run support in the Majors as of Saturday. “An 0-5 start was definitely not what I was expecting,” Santiago said. “But who knows? Maybe I’ll go 12-5 by going on a little 12 game winning streak right here. It can easily turn around, and you won’t even remember that it was 0-5. Just go out there and pitch, and it’s going to turn around soon.”
The hero of yesterday’s game, Brian Roberts, is not taking anything for granted this season. He missed 445 games over the last four seasons due to injuries and it has made him appreciate the little things. Last night Roberts jacked the go ahead, ninth inning, 2 out home run (his first as a Bomber.) “It’s great. I can’t put into words, really, how tough those couple years were for me to not be on the field,” Roberts said. “And there were things that went beyond just not being on the field; life in general was tough for a while with my concussion stuff. For the Yankees to give me an opportunity to come here and say that they really wanted me to play often, as much as I could, that was a huge step for them to go out on a limb a little bit.”
Tonight marks Derek Jeter‘s final regular season game at Angel Stadium. The Angels plan to hold a pregame ceremony honoring the Captain, who has been cheered loudly throughout the first two games. “It’s been special,” said Joe Girardi. “I think it’s the loudest reaction he’s gotten anywhere we’ve been except home. I thought it showed a lot of respect for what he’s done in the game from the baseball fans here in this area.”
“We’ve had some exciting series here; some good, some bad,” Jeter said. “Anaheim is one of those teams you sort of use as a measuring stick, because they’ve had a lot of success throughout the years, and they always seemed like they played us tough. It’s been a lot of fun being able to come here and play.”
Notes on the game
Yankees starting pitchers have walked just 39 batters all season, the lowest total among starting staffs in the Majors.
The Angels are 2-8 in one run games and have led at some point in 12 of their 16 losses, the highest percent of losses with blown leads in the Majors.
Dating back to 2005, The Yankees are 14-26 in their last 40 games at Angel Stadium.
In 81 games at Angel Stadium, Derek Jeter is .338 (112-331) with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs. He has played 166 career games against the Halos, the equivalent of an entire season.
First pitch at 10:05 PM on Yes
