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Joe Girardi is going with the same lineup that scored seven runs against the Red Sox last night in the first game of a four-game set against the Texas Rangers in Arlington tonight with Ivan Nova on the mound. Whether the seven-run outburst was luck or a sign of progress from a struggling group of hitters remains to be seen.
#Yankees lineup vs TEX: Gardner CF, Ichiro RF, Cano 2B, Overbay 1B, Wells LF, Hafner DH, Nunez SS, Stewart C, Cruz 3B, Nova P
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 22, 2013
The Rangers send Yu Darvish to the hill tonight opposite Nova. Ichiro Suzuki has found the most success of any Yankee batter off Darvish with seven hits in 14 at-bats with two extra base hits. Travis Hafner and Brett Gardner are the only Yankees in tonight's lineup that have hit home runs off Darvish. The Yankees lineup has been almost devoid of power recently, and the long ball may be able to get them going if they can take advantage of the hitter's park in Arlington. Gardner and Robinson Cano both enter the series on fire.
In limited appearances against Rangers hitters, Nova has managed to keep most of them fairly in check. Ian Kinsler has the best numbers off Nova with two hits in six at-bats off the Yankees' right-hander. Kinsler is also the only Rangers batter that has a homer against Nova. Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre is the only other batter with a hit for extra bases against Nova.
Sources: Garza will not pitch tonight for #Cubs, deal with #Rangers near.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 22, 2013
The Yankees could end up facing Matt Garza in this series in Texas if the deal with the Cubs goes through, as Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the two teams are nearing an agreement. If the Rangers use him to fill a TBA spot on Thursday, Garza would pitch against Hiroki Kuroda in the series finale at 2:05 pm.