As the road to the postseason shortens, it gets rougher for the Yankees as well. Traveling this last stretch has been extremely difficult for them, as it seems they’ve hit every pothole along the way. The Bombers are 9-11 in their last 20 games and have watched their division lead fade away as they’ve recently looked like a yo-yo in the standings, bouncing back and forth between first place, tied for first, or a drop to second.
They picked up two out of three in an important series in Boston and need to repeat the same or sweep in their next key set at home against the Rays. It should be a gem on the mound in the Bronx tonight as lefty aces for both squads get the start, C.C. Sabathia against David Price. Both have had their ups and downs facing the other side but neither has brought their A-game in their last few starts, so this game can go either way and both batting orders have a tough task on hand.
With the first-place Orioles going against the Wild-Card contending Oakland A’s, this as an absolute must-win series for the Yankees to push the Rays out of the race and stay in stride for the more-desireable AL East title, or at the least, one of the two wild card spots up for grabs.
New York Yankees (81-62)Â
Derek Jeter, DH
Nick Swisher, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Russell Martin, C
Andruw Jones, LF
Curtis Granderson, CF
Steve Pearce, 1B
Eduardo Nunez, SS
Pitching: LHP C.C. Sabathia (13-5, 3.56 ERA)
Game Time: 7:05 at Yankee Stadium
TV: YES, MLBN
Radio: WCBS 880, WADO 1280
TV: YES, MLBN
