Yankees - Orioles Series Preview

Yankees - Orioles

Yankee Stadium
(3 games)

The Yankees will welcome the last-place Orioles into town for a three game series starting tonight. This certainly won't be as intense as Yankees-Red Sox, but still, every game is important at this point of the season.

The Orioles head into this series after dropping seven of their first eleven games after the All-Star break. They had also lost six in a row before yesterday's win over the Angels. Baltimore is 12 games behind the Rays in the division, and 11 games behind Boston in the Wild Card.

The Yankees, on the other hand, are playing some of their best ball all season, winners of eight of their last nine since the break, and ten in a row at home. The Yankees remain three games behind the first place Rays in the division, and two games behind Boston in the Wild Card race.

MATCHUPS

Game 1 - Today @ 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES; Radio: WCBS 880
Mike Mussina RHP (13-6, 3.26) vs. Jeremy Guthrie RHP (6-8, 3.58)

Game 2 - Tomorrow @ 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES; Radio: WCBS 880
Darrell Rasner RHP (5-7, 4.83) vs. Daniel Cabrera RHP (6-6, 4.86)

Game 3 - Wednesday @ 1:05 p.m.
TV: YES; Radio: WCBS 880
Joba Chamberlain RHP (3-3, 2.30) vs. Brian Burres LHP (7-7, 5.37)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Yankees - Johnny Damon: Damon has not hit well since the All-Star break - just .211 with 3 RBI - but with the Orioles coming to town that could all change. Damon has killed the O's this season, hitting .452 with 2 homers, 8 RBI, and an OPS of 1.199. This is really not a surprise as he's always done well against O's pitching. For his career he's a .302 hitter, with 23 homers, 93 RBI, and an .827 OPS.

Damon vs. Guthrie: .333 (4-for-12), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1.000 OPS
Damon vs. Cabrera: .185 (5-for-27), 5 RBI, .427 OPS
Damon vs. Burres: .429 (6-for-14), 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1.244 OPS

Orioles - Aubrey Huff: Huff is the O's triple crown leader, leading the team in batting average (.293), HR (20), and RBI (64). He's also been red-hot since the All-Star break, hitting .350 with 2 homers and 5 RBI.

In his career he's done pretty well against the Yankees, hitting .295 with 13 HR, 71 RBI and an OPS of .813. His numbers at Yankee Stadium are also good; .289, 4 HR, 33 RBI, and a .769 OPS.

Huff vs. Mussina: .300 (5-for-50), 1 HR, 5 RBI, .740 OPS
Huff vs. Rasner: .125 (1-for-8)
Huff vs Joba: 0-for-3

INJURY REPORT

Yankees:
- Chien-Ming Wang is out till at least September with a mid-foot tearing of the Lisfranc ligament and a partial tear of the peroneal longus tendon.
- Phil Hughes is out till at least August, most likely September, with a stress fracture of the rib.
- Brian Bruney is out with an injured foot. He's now pitching with AAA Scranton, and could return soon.
- Jonathan Albaladejo is out for the year with a stress fracture in his right elbow.
- Hideki Matsui is on the 15-day DL with an inflamed left knee. It was reported today that the Yankees will make an announcement in a day or two that Matsui will have season-ending surgery.
- Jorge Posada is on the 15-day DL with a shoulder problem. He is deciding whether to have season-ending surgery, or to attempt to rehab the shoulder so he could return as a 1B/DH.

Orioles:
- Jamie Walker is day-to-day with an elbow injury.
- Greg Aquino is on the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring.
- Adam Lowen is on the 15-day DL with a stress fracture in his left elbow.
- Matt Albers is on the 15-day DL with a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
- Alex Cintron is on the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring.
- Jim Hoey is out for the season after having surgery on his right shoulder.
- Danys Baez is out for the year after having surgery on his right elbow.
- Chris Ray is out for the year after having surgery on his right elbow.
- Troy Patton is out for the year with a left labrum tear.