Yankees vs. Tigers Series Preview

Yankees - Tigers
@ New Yankee Stadium
(three games)

After four long and boring days off the Yankees return to the field to open the second half against the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers. Much has been made of the Yankees struggles vs. the top teams in the league and it would be good to get off to a good start this series against Detroit. However, back in April the Yankees did take two out of three from the Tigers at Comerica Park.

The Yanks enter this series with a 51-37 record, three games behind the first place Red Sox, and 2.5 games ahead of the Texas Rangers in the Wild Card race. They finished the first half winners of 13 of their final 18 and that includes three straight losses to the Angels just before the break.

Detroit is 48-39 and 3.5 games ahead of the White Sox in the Central. The went into the break with a 7-8 record in their final 15 games. Prior to those 15 games they had won seven straight.

The top of the Tigers rotation is very strong. Justin Verlander is having a terrific season so far going 10-4 with a 3.38 ERA. And Tampa continues to kick themselves for trading Edwin Jackson to the Tigers in the off season, he has been outstanding, going 7-4 with a 2.52 ERA. Besides that, rookies Luke French and Rick Porcello have also been impressive.

Offensively they're being led by Miguel Cabrera and Brandon Inge. Cabrera is hitting .321/.384/.542 with 18 HR and 50 RBI, and Inge is hitting .268/.360/.515 with a team leading 21 HR and 58 RBI. Other guys like Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco are having decent years so far.

On the other hand, guys like Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordenez have been mediocre at best. Ordenez is currently hitting .260/.330/.343 with 4 HR and 28 RBI in 71 games. And in 24 games Guillen is hitting just .200/.267/.244 with no homers and 6 runs driven in.

To me it's important that the Yanks get off to a hot start in the second half. They've lost three in a row and can't allow the losses to start piling up.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Tonight @ 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS
RHP A.J. Burnett (8-4, 3.77) vs. LHP Luke French (1-0, 1.93)

Game 2: Tomorrow @ 1:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS
LHP CC Sabathia (8-6, 3.86) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (10-4, 3.38)

Game 3 (Old Timers' Day): Sunday @ 2:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, TBS, WCBS
RHP Joba Chamberlain (4-2, 4.25) vs. Edwin Jackson (7-4, 2.52)

Players to Watch

YANKEES: Alex Rodriguez - Coming into the break A-Rod was on a tear. Over the last 17 games he's hit .373/.519/.797 with 8 HR and 22 RBI. The question now is can he keep it up as the Yanks begin the second half of their season.

For the year he's hitting .256/.411/.548 with 17 HR and 50 RBI.

He's had a lot of success against the Tigers in his career, hitting .345/.411/.652 with 30 HR, 32 doubles, and 103 RBI in 107 games. In 29 games against the Tigers as a Yankees he's hitting .336/.437/.664 with 9 HR, 6 doubles, and 28 RBI.

Rodriguez vs. French: NR
Rodriguez vs. Verlander: .286/.500/.286 (2-for-7) 3 RBI
Rodriguez vs. Jackson: .368/.400/.842 (7-for-19) 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 doubles.

TIGERS: Curtis Granderson - The speedy centerfielder has always hurt the Yankees. In In 23 games he's hitting .291/.408/.523 with 3 HR, 2 triples, 7 doubles, 12 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. However, his numbers drop dramatically when he plays in the Bronx. At the old stadium he hit just .194/.326/.361 with a homer and 2 RBI. This year he's just 1-for-11 with a homer and 3 RBI in three games against the Yanks.

The reson I picked Gradnerson as my Tiger to watch is mainly because of his speed. It's no mystery that teams like to run on Jorge Posada's throwing arm, and if Granderson gets on base look for him to do the same. Besides the speed he's got good power and is a very good center fielder.

Gradnerson vs. Burnett: .091/.167/.182 (1-for-11) the one hit was a double.
Granderson vs. Chamberlain: 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
Granderson vs. Sabathia: .200/.200/.200 (3-for-15)

Injury Report

YANKEES:
- Chien-Ming Wang, SP: 15-day DL with a strained right shoulder. The Yanks are hoping for an early August return.
- Xavier Nady, RF: Done for year, season-ending Tommy John surgery. 10-12 months to recover.
- Damaso Marte, RP: 15-day DL with a sore shoulder. He has begun a rehab assignment with the GCL Yanks.

TIGERS:
- Alfredo Figaro, SP: 15-day DL with a sprained left wrist.
- Nate Robertson, SP/RP: 15-day DL with a left elbow mass.
- Dontrelle Willis, SP: 15-day DL with a recurring anxiety disorder.
- Jeremy Bonderman, SP: 15-day DL as he recovers from thoratic outlet surgery.
- Carlos Guillen, LF/3B: 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation.
- Matt Treanor, C: 60-day DL with a torn labrum in his right hip.