Cancellation of Tuesday night’s game means the Yankees will play a day-night double header Wednesday. The Yankees will count on Freddy Garcia and Brian Gordon tomorrow against Cincinnati.
Freddy Garcia pitched well enough to win last time out but has struggled over the past month. He will be facing a more powerful lineup tomorrow than he did Friday against the Cubs— the Reds lead the National League in runs scored— so Freddy will need to hit his spots and keep the Reds’ hitters off balance with his breaking stuff. The Yankees will also send Brian Gordon to the mound for his second big-league start and the verdict is still out on him. Gordon was great his first time out, but the Yankees hope the novelty doesn’t wear off.
This puts the Yankees in a tough position. As we saw in the ninth inning Monday night, the Yankees have a thin bullpen with only two reliable arms. Other than Rivera and Robertson, only Boone Logan and Luis Ayala appeared on the opening day roster. Injuries to Soriano and Chamberlain have turned the Yankees’ strength into a weakness (or at least a major question-mark). Even though Rivera and Robertson have the ability to pitch twice in one day, I do not foresee Girardi using them twice on a mid-June day. This means Garcia and Gordon both need to pitch deep into their games tomorrow in order for the Yankees to sweep the twin-bill.
Andrew Rotondi
NYYUniverse.com Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @Yankees_talk
