Yankees @ Braves Series Preview

Yankees @ Braves
Turner Field
(three games)

Losing two of three to the Nationals is bad, following that up by losing two of three to the Marlins is just embarrassing. After a great month of May the Yankees have turn June into a month to forget. So far they're 9-10 this month and have lost 8 of their last 12. It's amazing how far this team has fallen since heading into Boston two weeks ago. They've gone from a game up in the division to four games behind and now are fighting just to remain on top of the Wild Card race.

You can put most of the blame for these struggles on the offense. The Yankees pitching has done the job, posting a 3.84 ERA over their last 12, and a 3.85 ERA for the entire month of June, but the offense just hasn't been there. For the month they're hitting just .247/.342/.424 as a team. And since their 15-run outburst against Johan Santana and the Mets they've hit just .232/.309/.340 as a team. Since the Boston series began many of the Yankees top hitters have completely disappeared:

Jorge Posada - .219/.324/.344
Melky Cabrera - .216/.302/.351
Johnny Damon - .186/.255/.372
Nick Swisher - .189/.318/.297
Alex Rodriguez - .114/.279/.257

On the bright side, these guys can't possible continue to hit this poorly so things should turn around.

The Braves head into this series with offensive problems of their own, they currently rank 23rd in the game in runs scored (290), 26th in home runs (52), 20th in team batting (.258), 18th in on-base % (.330), and 27th in slugging % (.387). How much of an offensive powerhouse can you be when Yunel Escobar leads your team with 36 RBI. Besides Escobar, they've been led offensively by Chipper Jones and Brian McCann, and the recent acquisition of Nate McLouth should give their offense a much needed boost. So far as a Brave McLouth is hitting .282/.346/.479 with 3 HR and 10 RBI over 17 games.

On the other hand, they can pitch. Currently they rank sixth in baseball with a 3.94 team ERA, they've struck out 527 batters which is the 3rd most in baseball, they have a very solid starting staff. Derek Lowe leads the staff with 7 wins, but he's hardly been their best pitch. That honor goes to either Jair Jurrjens or Javy Vazquez. Jurrjens is 5-5, but has a team-leading 2.89 ERA, and Vazquez has a 3.18 ERA and a team-leading 117 strikeouts in 99 innings. Rookie Tommy Hanson has also been impressive in his first three big league starts, going 2-0, with a 4.08 ERA. They also have a solid bullpen, especially at the back end where they have Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano splitting the closer duties. Gozalez leads the team wit 8 saves and has a 2.18 ERA, while Soriano has picked up 6 saves and has a 1.38 ERA.

Atlanta is currently in 4th place in the NL East with a 33-36 record, just four games behind the first place Phillies. They're also four games out of the wild card.

The last time these two teams played was back in 2006 and the Yanks took two out of three.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Tonight @ 7:00 p.m. | TV/Radio: MY9, WCBS
RHP Chien-Ming Wang (0-5, 12.30 ERA) vs. RHP Tommy Hanson (2-0, 4.08 ERA)

Game 2: Tomorrow @ 7:00 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, ESPN2, WCBS
RHP Joba Chamberlain (3-2, 3.89 ERA) vs. RHP Kenshin Kawakami (4-6, 4.42 ERA)

Game 3: Thursday @ 7:00 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS 880
LHP Andy Pettitte (7-3, 4.26 ERA) vs. RHP Derek Lowe (7-5, 4.09 ERA)

Players to Watch

YANKEES: Brett Gardner - Look, I like Melky Cabrera, and think he's a solid ballplayer, but does he really have to start everyday? Over the past week here is how those two have been performing:

Gardner - 4 games, 429/.429/.714, 3 SB, 2 RBI
Melky - 5 games .154/.313/.385, HR, RBI

And this isn't anything new, here's how they've both hit over the last 28 days:

Gardner - .316/.409/.368, 3 RBI, 6 SB
Melky - .194/.282/.339, 2 HR, 8 RBI

I know people love his speed off the bench, especially in an NL ballpark, but maybe having that speed in the game the whole night would be beneficial as well. The offense has been awful lately, and they need a boost. Maybe a little speed in the lineup will help. And if you don't want to sit Melky, how about Johnny Damon or Nick Swisher? They've been equally awful. Over the past 28 days Damon is hitting just .217/.293/.422. And in the last two weeks Swisher is hitting just .206/.341/.324.

Even if Joe Girardi doesn't decide to put Gardner in the starting lineup, it should be interesting to watch how he effects these games in the late innings. He did everything he could to score in Florida but was stranded at third a few times thanks to some poor clutch hitting.

Gardner vs. Hanson: NR
Gardner vs. Kawakami: NR
Gardner vs. Lowe: NR

BRAVES: Chipper Jones - Even at 37, Chipper is still one of the Braves best hitters. So far this year he's hitting .299/.413/.495 with 8 HR and 32 RBI. He's second in hitting and slugging to Brian McCann, second in RBI to Yunel Escobar, and leads the team in homers and OBP.

In 19 career games against the Yankees, Jones has hit .355/.432/.618 with 5 HR and 17 RBI. The last time he faced the Yanks was in 2006 in the Bronx and went 7-for-15 with a homer, two doubles, and 3 RBI.

Jones vs. Wang: 2-for-4
Jones vs. Chamberlain: NR
Jones vs. Pettitte: .368/.435/.526 (7-for-19), 3 doubles, 4 RBI, 4 strikeouts.

Injury Report

YANKEES:
- Xavier Nady, RF: 15-day DL with an injured right elbow. He's headed to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday to begin a minor league rehab assignment. He could be back in a week or so.
- Cody Ransom, INF: 60-day DL with a strained right quad, he's playing games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
- Jose Molina, C: On the 15-day DL with a strained left quad. He's begun baseball activities but still thinks he's a little while away.
- Damaso Marte, RP: 15-day DL with a sore shoulder. He's played a lot of catch, but is still nowhere close to returning.

BRAVES:
- Greg Norton, LF/1B: 15-day DL with a strained right hamstring.
- Jorge Campillo, SP: 15-day DL with tendinitis in his right rotator cuff.
- Buddy Carlyle, RP/SP: 15-day DL with a upper back strain.
- Omar Infante, 2B/SS: 15-day DL with a franctured left hand.
- Jo-Jo Reyes, SP: 15-day DL with a strained right hamstring.
- Tim Hudson, SP: 60-day DL as he recovers from right elbow surgery.
- Kelly Johnson, 2B: Is day-to-day after leaving Monday's game with leg cramps.
- Yunel Escobar, SS: Day-to-day with a strained left hip.