Yankees at Orioles-Yankees go for the sweep Pregame

The New York Yankees started off their season losing three straight games to the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Yankees came into Baltimore and have won the first two games.  They are looking for the three game sweep tonight.  CC Sabathia is starting against Jake Arietta.  Here are the lineups and some notes. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner. 

Orioles Lineup:Nick Reimold, J.J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Mark Reynolds, Ronny Paulino, Wilson Betemit, Robert Andino. 

The Yankees will have off Thursday and have their annual Welcome Home Dinner at night.  Jorge Posada will be in attendance and be presented with the Pride Of the Yankees award.  Posada will also throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Friday afternoon in the Home Opener. 

Mariano Rivera was able to secure his first save of the season last night.  Rafael Soriano broke a fingernail and was probably not available last night.  The Yankees still haven't announced if he is available for tonight's game. 

The Yankees really used their bullpen last night and will need Sabathia to go deep into the game.  If Sabathia is on this may be a game where he needs to go eight or even get a complete game.  The Yankees will not use David Phelps or Cory Wade.  They could probably use Rivera for an inning in a save situation and they may not have Soriano. 

The Yankees once again last night were 2-18 with runners in scoring position.  They haven't hit in the clutch so far at all this season.  This has been a problem for the last couple of years.  It is why they lost game five last year to the Tigers.  If they would of just got one hit or one sac fly they would of been back in the ALCS.  They really need to improve on this to be a championship team. 

Nick Swisher got hit in the foot last night but he appears to be fine and is in the lineup. 

New York Yankees Home Opener vs Angels

The New York Yankees will play their home opener today against the Anaheim Angels. Gametime is at 1:00PM but for those of you there or watching on T.V. the festivities are set to begin at 12:15PM. The Yankees will receive their 2009 championship rings as well as raising their championship banner. There will be the normal introductions and first pitch thrown out by Bernie Williams. Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra will also take part in the ceremonies. There will be a flyover and maybe even challenger the Bald Eagle, I am not sure about that one. It will be a exciting day as even Hideki Matsui who is now with the Angels will be able to get his ring and take part in the festivities. Here are the pregame notes and lineups for the game. I will have much much more after the game and remember to check out http://www.worldnewsvine.com/ for my article on all of todays events. Robinson Cano has hit safely in each of the Yankees 6 games to start the season. He has a 363 batting average over the last 2 Aprils. He has been starting hot which is a good sign. He had a 237 career batting avg in April before the last 2 yrs. The Yankees are 70-36-1 in their home openers heading into today. They have won 11 of their last 12 only dropping last yrs home opener at the New Stadium. 5 time all star Bernie Williams will become the 9th former yankee to throw out the first pitch at a home opener. The Yankees annual homecoming dinner was last night and raised 1.3 million which is a alltime record. The Yankees became the 3rd team to win a world series in their first yr in a ballpark. The Boston Red Sox did it in 1912 and the Cardinals in 2006. CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett have pitched back to back 21 times since joining the Yankees and the team has only lost both games 1 time. The bullpen has been strong giving up 2 runs and 2 walks in their last 13 2/3 innings. They have gone 2-0 with a 1.32 era in that stretch. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Johnson(DH) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Granderson(CF) Swisher(RF) Gardner(LF) Andy Pettitte makes the start, it is his 4th opening day start and he has gone 3-0 in the others. Ervin Santana will be on the mound for the Angels.

Yankees/Angels Pitching Matchups

Here are the pitching matchups for the 3 game home opening series. Tomorrow-Andy Pettitte vs Ervin Santana Wednesday-Javier Vazquez vs Scott Kazmir Thursday-Phil Hughes vs Jered Weaver The first two games are 1:00 afternoon games and then Thursday will be a 7:00PM game. Thursday will mark Phil Hughes 2010 debut as the 5th starter. Tomorrow of course will mark the home opener with all the pomp and circumstance to begin with and then you add the ring ceremony and raising of the championship flag. Bernie Williams will throw out the first pitch. There will be a fly over, huge american flag on the field and all of that. If you are going to the game the gates will open at 11:00AM for the general public so arrive early. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 12:30PM so make sure you get to your seats in plenty of time. It will also be Hideki Matsuis return and he will be part of the ceremony which is nice. I don't think I will have much more tonight but make sure to check tomorrow for the pregame notes and lineup and I will make sure to have full coverage of the day tomorrow night when I return from covering it. Remember World News Vine is where you can find all of my articles on the Yankees and Mets.