Into the Storm

Thoughts on last night’s game and thoughts about tonight’s game in this post.  First, out with the old - Girardi decided to shake things up with the lineup and give some players a rest headed into the big series this weekend as well as try to tip things in his favor against the lefty Bale.

Pettitte started and even with the 22 minute rain delay to disrupt his rhythm he threw a beauty.  One run and five hits in 6.2 innings before Joba-Mo-Let’s Go shut down the Royals to end the series.  Chamberlain put two on in the 8th before striking out Jose Guillen to get out of trouble.  Rivera came on in a non-save situation after the two home runs in the top of the inning made it 6-1 but still worked a scoreless 9th for his first non-save of the season.  So far we’ve been spoiled with solid pitching out of the bullpen (with a few exceptions).

The offense did in fact come through as a result of the shakeup.  In fact, the only Yankee to not get a hit was Cano, who at least reached on a walk.  The line-up shake-up included dropping Cano to seventh until he figures out which end of the bat to swing and putting Cabrera in the two hole, which paid off to the tune of a homer and an RBI base hit.  A-Rod moved up to third in the order and Posada hit clean up as the DH.  A-Rod worked a walk, drove in Damon on a fielder’s choice, and homered himself in for a pretty decent night.  Posada went 2-4 with a walk, single and a run, and a solo jack for his own well played evening.  Morgan Ensberg hit twice and scored, proving he can contribute more than just a glove to the game.  Bale is certainly not the toughest pitcher we’ve faced, but its always good to see that the offense can in fact win some games.

Tonight’s match up in Boston will be CMW vs. Clay Buchholz.  Buchholz has never faced the Yankees and had a mediocre debut against Toronto where he pitched 5 innings and gave up 4 runs, 3 earned but also struck out seven.  Wang has plenty of experience against Boston, but not all of it has been good.  The two powerhouses of the line up, Ramirez and Ortiz, are both hitting .500 or better against Wang with a pair of homers each.  Wang has worked on his slider and his change up instead of relying solely on his sinker to record outs since the last time he faced the Red Sox, so perhaps he can keep the hitters guessing.  So far this season he’s been absolutely electric, giving up two runs in 13 innings and holding batters to .208 against him. Also noteworthy:  Ortiz is batting an anemic .083 this season.

Red Cross Medical Watch:  Jeter will most likely not start tonight.  He’ll test his legs out around the bases to see how the quad feels before Girardi will let him back into the lineup.  Posada will test his shoulder with some long toss before the decision on him will be made.  He hit .341 vs. righties last season, giving him an edge over Matsui (.290) and Damon (.267) for the DH position if Giambi plays first and he’s not behind the plate.  There’s no reason to believe that Abreu will not be in the line up and in right.

The Red Sox are having some issues with injuries themselves, as Mike Lowell will sit out the series on the 15 day DL.  Youkilis moves from first to third and Sean Casey will handle first.  Reliever Mike Timlin is also out with a contusion on his right index finger.

With both teams coming off victories (Sox over Tigers 12-6 last night), which team will win the fight to keep the momentum?  Find out tonight at 7:05!