As Hurricane Irene rolls up the east coast, the Yankees bats made some thunder of their own ending the in the series finale against the Athletics. They look to take their offensive juggernaut into Baltimore this weekend as they take on the Orioles and the weather. Friday’s game looks as if it will have no issues with weather, however, with the expectations of a big storm on Sunday, the teams have moved their last game to Saturday to make it a day-night double header, so adjust your viewing schedules as needed.
They Yankees seem to always shine when they visit Camden Yards, as they’ve outscored their AL East rival 82-30 while winning nine of 10, scoring at least 13 runs in three of those victories. This trend should continue as the Orioles have the league’s worst ERA and the Yankees offense can come from anyone, at any time.
It is hard to point out a single bat in the Yankee order that is sparking these offensive outbursts so maybe it’s time to look at one that needs to step up, Mark Teixeira. Now you might say that Tex has 35 home runs, and that is correct but his average has dipped below .250 and has become a pure home run hitter. Maybe in the Yankees line up that is okay, but he is a better hitter than his average and if he can start getting base hits, this offense could be more consistent.
When you call out Teixeira as being a weak spot in an offense, you know that team can hit. The Orioles pitching staff will have to try to manage the Yankees, despite a league worst 4.80 team ERA. In the first game, Tommy Hunter (1-1, 6.20 ERA) will have the first crack at it. In Saturday’s double-header, Brian Matusz (1-6, 8.92 ERA) and Zach Britton (7-9, 4.54 ERA) will have their turns. These match ups should all favor the powerful Yankees line up.
Countering for the Yankees on the mound will be AJ Burnett, followed by Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia. Burnett has been awful in the month of August with a 10.80 ERA in his four starts, which gives him a career ERA of 7.62 and a 1-9 record with the Yankees in August starts. Hopefully Burnett can snap out of his August slump, but if he continues, it comes back to the offense and if they can out-score their pitching. Nova has been great for the Yankees, winning his last nine of his last 10 starts, while the teams has won all ten games. As for Garcia, he is making his first start since being placed on the DL with a finger injury he suffered two weeks ago.
Everything seemingly adds up for another Yankees series win against the Orioles in Baltimore. I see the Bombers taking the momentum from the three-grand slam day and bringing it to Camden to sweep the Orioles (if weather prevails).
Justin McElrath
NYYUniverse.com Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @Justin_McElrath
