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There's no getting around the fact that the Yankees have flat-out sucked over the last two weeks, losing four in a row and dropping eight of the past nine games. If there's a silver lining, it's that they've won both of CC Sabathia's most recent starts, so they will have to turn to their former ace to be a stopper again. The pitching staff has averaged 6.6 runs per game since May 14th so... a real pitching performance would be appreciated.
Meanwhile, the Yankees will deploy a lefty-focused lineup against Rangers righty Nick Martinez as they attempt to build on their offensive explosion last night. Martinez will face only two pure righthanded hitters: Alex Rodriguez and John Ryan Murphy, who is giving Brian McCann a breather since it's a day game after a night game. Nonetheless, any lineup that has Stephen Drew and Didi Gregorius batting sixth and seventh isn't going to inspire too much promise. Oh well. At least Slade Heathcott is in the lineup again after his 2-for-3 debut, so here's hoping he keeps up the good work!
First pitch is at 1:05 EST, and the game will be on both WPIX and MLB Network.
Go Yankees, go baseball, stop losing.