Preview: Yankees vs Blue Jays (9/19/14)
Hiroki Kuroda's (10-9, 3.81 ERA) time in the Bronx is winding down just like the captain's. He will take on Mark Buehrle (12-9, 3.40 ERA) as the season comes closer to the end. Kuroda has been taking it easy between starts to avoid a second half collapse like last year, and so far its worked. He is 3-2 with a 3.33 ERA in eight starts since August 1st, holding opponents to a .235 average. In his last six starts he is 3-1 with a 2.92 ERA and hasn't walked a batter in his last three.
Buehrle's last start against the Rays went extra innings so he did not factor into the decision. He went six innings and gave up four earned runs on nine hits but they would eventually lose in the tenth. In 20 career starts against the Yankees he has only won twice.
Although both teams aren't mathematically eliminated from the post season it would still be a miracle if either of them makes it, but the managers don't look at it like that. "I don't want to look at it like that because we still have a chance," said Joe Girardi. "I know our chances aren't great, but as long as there's a chance, we have to keep doing what we need to do to win." John Gibbons said, "We want to finish strong, regardless. We're still trying to sneak in. It's going to be awful tough, but we want to finish on a good note, you never want to finish on a sour note."
Derek Jeter's emotional goodbyes began before his final homestand when the Gatorade commercial, set to Frank Sinatra's "My Way, hit the airwaves celebrating his legacy and farewell. "It's sort of a way to thank them for what they've meant to me. It was a fun experience," said Jeter. "It didn't take long, probably 30 minutes at most."
"I think it's going to mean a lot but I also think it's going to be difficult, just because of what baseball has meant to his life and what the Yankees have meant to him and what he's meant to this city," said Girardi. "He's probably not going to show a lot [of emotion], but it's hard to take this uniform off."
Notes on the game
Jose Bautista has homered in four straight games against New York.
The Blue Jays have lost six of their last seven road games.
7:05 pm on Yes.