On this glorious Wednesday, June 1, the New York Yankees sit atop the American League East as they head into the series finale in Oakland. The matinee game has a 3:35 start time. I don't know about you, but I'm thrilled that I won't have to stay up until 1 am tonight and have to wake up five hours later.
The Yankees have continued to crush the baseball with authority on this road trip, hitting seven home runs in their last five games. They'll need some more of that firepower if they hope to sweep the Oakland A's this afternoon.
A.J. Burnett will take the mound for the Bombers today. Burnett has been solid this season, but nothing spectacular. His K/9 rate is a bit weak at 6.92 and he's been pretty luck as far as BAbip is concerned (.246 - career is .288). Three of his five starts in May were quality starts and he'll look to add another inning or two to his last start of five innings against the Seattle Mariners. However, the bullpen is well rested after Bartolo Colon's complete game gem and Freddy Garcia's strong start yesterday. In nine career starts against the Athletics, Burnett is 4-3 with 3.88 ERA in 58 innings of work.
Gio Gonzalez will oppose Burnett. Gonzalez is a guy that will strike out a good amount of batters (9.10 K/9) and generally keeps the ball inside the park (0.58 HR/9). He's a three pitch pitcher who primarily depends on his fastball and curveball, with the changeup thrown in every once in a while. The twenty-five year old Gonzalez is coming off an unbelievable May: 32.1 innings, 1.67 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 35 strikeouts. In three career starts against the Yankees, Gonzalez is 1-2 with a 6.60 ERA and only fifteen innings to show for.
Current Series
Yankees lead the series 2-0
| Mon 05/30 |
WP: Bartolo Colon (3 - 3) LP: Trevor Cahill (6 - 3) |
5 - 0 win |
| Tue 05/31 |
WP: Freddy Garcia (4 - 4) LP: Brett Anderson (3 - 5) |
10 - 3 win |
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New York Yankees Wednesday, Jun 1, 2011, 3:35 PM EDT A.J. Burnett vs Gio Gonzalez Partly cloudy. .Winds blowing out to center field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 60. Complete Coverage > |
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Lineups, match-ups, previews and weather forecast after the jump.
Yankees lineup - 1) Derek Jeter SS, 2) Curtis Granderson CF, 3) Mark Teixeira 1B, 4) Alex Rodriguez DH, 5) Robinson Cano 2B, 6) Nick Swisher RF, 7) Russell Martin C, 8) Andruw Jones LF, 9) Eduardo Nunez 3B.
Athletics lineup - 1) Crisp CF, 2) DeJesus DH, 3) Jackson 1B, 4) Willingham LF, 5) Sweeney RF, 6) Suzuki C, 7) Ellis 2B, 8) Kouzmanoff 3B, 9) Pennington SS
Click here to see how Burnett fairs against current Oakland hitters.
Click here to see how Gonzalez fairs against current New York hitters.
Notes:
1) Derek Jeter is currently in the middle of a six game hit streak. He's hit .348 (8 for 23) and walked seven times (.484 OBP). He hit .274 in the month of May.
2) Since May 17, Alex Rodriguez is hitting .383 (23 for 60), but only four extra base hits (one double and three home runs) and eight RBI.
3) Mariano Rivera is third in the American League in saves (13) despite not recording one since May 10 against the Kansas City Royals.
The current weather report calls for some early afternoon showers out in Oakland. Apparently, tarp is on the field and it's pouring right now. Hopefully, they'll be getting the game in today. Come back for a game thread at 3:30.