The Yankees jumped to an early lead yesterday, enjoyed a stellar outing from their 25 year old ace in training, and tacked on in the late innings to make the game a laugher.
Today, they start their true ace, the $23M Man, and go for the sweep against a team on pace for 47 wins. What could go wrong?
CC has been far from himself, and while I'm not nervous yet, I'm not confident in him either. His K/9 are at their lowest since 2004, his BB/9 are his highest since 2004, his HR/9 are a career high by a third, and his H/9 are their highest since 2007. He has reached the 7th inning only once in his last 5 starts. He's better than average, but expectations are not average when it comes to the big man.
He's opposed by Kevin Millwood, who has suffered the indignation of an 0-5 start despite a stellar WHIP and more than 7 K/9. He's pitched into the 7th or deeper in 7 of his 11 starts this season, and he helped Baltimore beat the Yanks back in April even though he was not the pitcher of record.
Take nothing for granted. Eyes on the prize.