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The Yankees look to remain undefeated in the Andy Pettitte III era as they welcome the Astros to Steinbrenner Field. Taking the mound for the Bombers will be Hiroki Kuroda, who all of a sudden is no longer the veteran of the staff. After a shaky spring debut, the right hander bounced back with three scoreless innings against these same Astros in his previous outing, so he'll be looking to build off that success.
The Yankees' lineup will face 27-year old Bud Norris, who shutout the Phillies over three innings in his previous outing. This spring, the Astros have made Norris' development a priority, including the refinement of a change-up, of which Yankees' batters can expect to see plenty this afternoon.
The Yankees nicked-up trio of Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, and Russell Martin remain sidelined, but positive reports about the short stop and right fielder suggest they may be back in action as soon as Sunday. Meanwhile, Eduardo Nunez has finally made it back into the lineup after missing most of the exhibition season because of a bruised right hand.