Yankees vs. Mets Subway Series Game Two

The New York Yankees and New York Mets will play game two of their three game Subway Series tonight at 7:00PM at Yankee Stadium.  The Mets defeated the Yankees 2-1 last night in a good pitchers duel between Freddy Garcia and R.A. Dickey not who you would expect in a pitchers duel.  The offense of both teams didn't do much at all and the Yankees were 1-10 with runners in scoring position.  Chris Capuano will pitch for the Mets tonight and A.J. Burnett for the Yankees.  Here are some news and notes and the lineups.

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez(DH), Robinson Cano, Russell Martin, Nick Swisher, Andruw Jones, Eduardo Nunez(3B).  Brett Gardner and Jorge Posada are sitting this one out with the lefty starting. 

New York Mets:Jose Reyes, Daniel Murphy, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, Fernando Martinez, Justin Turner, Josh Thole, Jason Pridie, Ruben Tejada. 

Gary Carter-former Mets catcher issued a statement today.  He has four small tumors in his brain.  Here is what he had to say.  "Earlier today, I learned that four very small tumors have been found on my brain, following an MRI on Friday at a West Palm Beach facility.  I am scheduled to be examined further Thursday at Duke Medical Center, and we will learn more at that time about my diagnosis.  My wife Sandy, and our children and family thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  We ask that you please respect our privacy  as we learn more about my medical condition." 

Jose Reyes leads the majors in triples with six, is tied for the major league lead in steals with 16, hits(59), multi-hit games(19) and tied for second in the NL in doubles with 13.  He is hitting 315 with one homerun and 15 RBI and has a 365 on base percentage.  He has played extremely well as well as Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez.  All three will be guys that the Mets can definitely look to trade as they unload some salary and try to build for the future. 

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN he heard that first round pick Matt Harvey could move up to AA Binghamton by June 1st.  He is in A Port St. Lucie and is 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA.  He has pitched 41 1/3 innings striking out 46. 

The Yankees have lost six games in a row at home which is the longest streak since they lost eight in a row at home in 2003.  They have played 25 home games so far this season which is the second most in the AL behind K.C. who have played 28 and tying for third most in the majors behind them, Cincinnati and the Dodgers. 

This current streak and the eight game losing streak in 2003 are the only two six game losing streaks or more at home for the Yankees since 1990.  They have lost each of their last two home series which is just the second time in the New Stadium that has happened.  The Yankees have had seven single season losing streaks of seven or more games since 1919 including one over the last 25 seasons. 

The Yankees are just 1-12 when losing after five innings this season and 1-14 when losing after six.  They are 1-16 after seven and 1-17 when losing after eight.  They are obviously a team that hasn't come back well, they need the lead and then hold on to it.  It shows how poor the offense has performed because they have been a team that comes back a lot especially once they get into the other bullpens but this season they have gotten worse as the game goes on and they rely too much on the homerun. 

Derek Jeter owns a lifetime batting average of 389 against the Mets.  It is the second best all-time among players with at least 150 plate appearances.  He has an active home hitting streak of 23 games which dates back to 6/28/2003.  Mariano Rivera needs one more appearance to reach 1,000 for his career.  He would be just the 15th pitcher all-time to reach that mark.  He will be the first to reach that total with one team. 

Yankees lose the opener of the Subway Series

The New York Yankees and New York Mets openened up the 2011 version of the Subway Series on Friday night.  It was a packed house and the rain cleared up in time for the game.  The offense for both teams was not good.  The pitching was superb on both sides.  Freddy Garcia gave up two runs in seven innings and R.A. Dickey gave up one run on four hits in six innings.  The knuckler was dancing and had the Yankees all screwed up.  The Yankees offense except for the game on Thursday night when they scored 13 runs has been pretty bad.  They hit a lot of homeruns but don't manufacture runs and don't do much in a lot of these games.  They are now in third place in the AL East.  The Mets are in fourth place in the NL East but with a ragtag bunch have reached 500.  They are playing hard and scrappy and they have been getting great starting pitching over the last few days. 

The Yankees only run came on a Mark Teixeira homerun.  The Mets got a solo homerun from Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner continued to be their best offensive player with an RBI double and a couple of other hits.  The bullpen on both sides looked great, Mike O'Connor, Jason Isringhausen and Krod for the Mets and Joba Chamberlain and Dave Robertson for the Yankees.  The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday night at 7:00PM. 

A.J. Burnett will take on Chris Capuano.  The Yankees have lost six straight at home, it is the first time since 2003 when they lost eight straight at home.  There was one play in the game in the middle innings, I think the sixth where Jose Reyes made a diving stop on Arod and threw him out to end the inning.  The Yankees had first and second no outs and couldn't take advantage, that was the game right there, he saved a run most likely and who knows what could of happened after that.  The Yankees though have been inept in those situations, they don't know how to move runners over, lay down a bunt, hit a sac fly.  They right now barely can do any of that, they play Earl Weaver baseball, sit back and wait for the big homerun.  If they keep it up they won't get anywhere because the pitching has been so good but how long can that last with Garcia and Colon who have been big suprises.  If the pitching goes south eventually the Yankees will be in big trouble unless the offense wakes up.  The offense is not taking advantage of the good pitching and they keep wasting great pitching performances that you don't know if that will be the last good game they get out of Garcia or Colon etc. 

Yankees win their third straight in a blowout

The New York Yankees won their third straight game tonight.  They won 13-2 over the Baltimore Orioles.  C.C. Sabathia pitched eight dominating innings and Amaury Sanit closed it out struggling but getting the job done.  He gave up two runs in that final inning but at least he didn't let it get too out of hand.  The offense was on fire, Derek Jeter had a couple of hits, Nick Swisher had a big game with four RBI, Jorge Posada had a double and a couple of walks.  Posada played first base for the first time this season and 16th time in his career.  The Yankees offense really needed a game like this as they have really struggled lately. 

The Yankees will now play a three game weekend series at Yankees Stadium against the Mets.  Freddy Garcia will start against R.A. Dickey on Friday night.  The Mets are without Ike Davis and David Wright who are both on the disabled list.  The Yankees will try and make it four games in a row. 

Yankees News and Notes

Rafael Soriano was placed on the DL today but there is no structural damage.  He just has elbow inflammation.  It is good for the Yankees to give him the rest and get him back in shape in a couple of weeks.  Chris Dickerson was called up to the major leagues, he found out around midnight last night on the bus coming back from Pawtucket to Scranton. 

Nick Swisher was out because he was sick.  He was throwing up after the game last night.  It might be best for him to have a couple of days off to clear his head and maybe he can get going once he feels better.  He landed at 2:30 in the afternoon today and went right to the ballpark. 

Joe Girardi would not committ to a new eighth inning guy saying that Joba Chamberlain and Dave Robertson will both be in the back end.  It means that depending on the day and the matchups I guess, that is what he will go too.  The Yankees do like to use Robertson more to get out of jams and Joba to start innings.  They used Robertson first tonight followed by Joba. 

Girardi said he had no doubt today of where he was putting Jorge Posada in the lineup.  He said "To me it was the place to put him today."  "There's a lot of things I look at, and I just thought it was the place to put him." 

Carlos Silva is starting for AAA Scranton on Thursday. 

Yankees losing streak ends

The Yankees snapped their six game losing streak tonight with a 6-2 win.  Ivan Nova pitched well, the bullpen was great and the offense woke up.  The offense actually didn't do that bad last night either, it looks like they are ready to take off.  Alex Rodriguez had two solo homeruns and Jorge Posada making his first start since the controversy had two hits.  Brett Gardner had three hits as he continues to hit the ball well. 

Dave Robertson and Joba Chamberlain each pitched 1 1/3 innings.  Mariano Rivera faced the last hitter of the game because Joe Girardi didn't want to take any chances.  Amaury Sanit started the inning getting the first two outs but then gave up a walk and a double scoring a run.  Girardi came running out of the dugout obviously showing the importance of getting this win. 

It seems that as Arod goes so do the Yankees, if he gets on a hot streak watch the Yankees also get hot again and make everyone forget about this losing streak.  The Rays remain in first place two games ahead of the Yankees.  The Yankees will head to Baltimore for a brief two game series with Bartolo Colon starting tomorrow against Zach Britton a young phenom.  The Yankees will start the Subway Series on Friday night. 

Mets News and Notes

The New York Mets are in a middle of a extra inning game.  Their game was delayed by rain tonight.  It was revealed this afternoon that David Wright has a stress fracture of his back.  The injury happened on a slide in Houston.  It is hard to believe with these injuries and the Mets.  He will be out at least two weeks with no baseball activity.  I don't know the exact timetable but I don't think your looking at a very speedy return.  It is not known what the Mets will do right now, they also have Ike Davis on the disabled list.  Justin Turner might play third and Murphy stay at second once Davis gets back. 

Ike Davis is wearing an aircast and will head to Port St. Lucie to start his rehab.  Wright will get a second opinion and a decision with a DL stint will be made then.  I don't see how he will avoid the DL.  Wright needs to rest for 7-10 days then resume baseball activities, he doesn't believe this is a long term injury. 

Pedro Beato made his first rehab appearance yesterday for AAA Buffalo.  Chris Young and Jenrry Mejia both underwent surgery at The Hospital For Special Surgery today. 

The Yankees losing streak reaches six

The New York Yankees lost their sixth straight game tonight.  They had a 5-1 lead off of David Price but A.J. Burnett was not able to hold it and the Yankees lost 6-5.  Burnett had one of his old innings where after crusing through five innings he imploded in the sixth inning.  He gave up a double and a homerun to Sam Fuld to start the inning.  It was 5-3 Yankees and he seemed to regroup getting the next two outs but then a single, wild pitch, single, wild pitch and two run homerun and it was 6-5 Rays.  It was the first time all season that the Rays have scored more then five runs in their own building.  The Yankees did not get a hit for the final three innings and they were left shaking their heads once again. 

Burnett got the loss and who knows what went wrong.  He didn't throw a lot of pitches so you can't say the pitch count, maybe Joe Girardi left him in a little too long but he is loyal to his regular guys.  The bullpen did a good job shutting down the Rays but the offense didn't do anything after sxoring three runs in the fifth inning. 

The Yankees record is now 20-19, they were just 20-13, they are three games behind the Rays and the Red Sox are now 21-20.  The Blue Jays are also 21-20 after winning six games in a row.  The Yankees and Rays will meet on Wednesday evening with Ivan Nova going up against James Shields.  Shields has been great this season adn Nova is up and down.  It looks like the Ynakees may lost their seventh straight game as they head to Baltimore to play two games against the Orioles.