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The Yankees managed to stay in the hunt for a Wild Card spot despite a disastrous weekend at the hands of the Red Sox, thanks totally to the fact that the Rays ran into a wall the size of the west coast. To make that matter the Yankees will need to take care of business at Camden Yards in Baltimore, where they have lost five straight games.
#Yankees lineup vs BAL: Gardner CF, A-Rod 3B, Cano 2B, Soriano LF, Granderson CF, Nunez SS, Overbay 1B, Ichiro RF, Romine C, Sabathia P
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 9, 2013
With Derek Jeter out of the lineup with a sore ankle that has plagued him all season, Alex Rodriguez brings his .380 OBP to the second spot in the lineup. The goal, of course, is to get people on in front of Robinson Cano and Alfonso Soriano. Ichiro Suzuki batting in that spot makes no sense, so thankfully the binder has seen at least one of the errors of its ways and decided that A-Rod is a better choice. Though the tweet says that both Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner are playing center field, Granderson is actually the DH. Chris Stewart's injury also forces Austin Romine into the lineup, though, he has been working with CC Sabathia lately anyway. Maybe Stewart's absence will prompt a JR Murphy start at some point this week!
Returning from a long injury hiatus, Zoilo Almonte is back with the Yankees in Baltimore, but isn't in the starting lineup tonight. Travis Hafner was also spotted on the field earlier today.
In a bit of interesting news, both David Huff and Phil Hughes are listed as available relievers for tonight's game. It has been assumed that one or the other would be starting on Thursday, which may still be the case, but it is a curious choice. Maybe this opens the door for Brett Marshall or Adam Warren to make a start later this week.