Series Preview: Yankees vs. White Sox

Yankees vs. White Sox

New Yankee Stadium
(three games)

After a poor series against the Rangers the Yankees look to get back on track as they take on the Chicago White Sox in a three-game series in the Bronx. Chicago had their way with the Yankees earlier this month when they took three of four from the Bombers at US Cellular.

With the Yankees giving back a game and a half in the standings this week to Boston it would be nice to see them at least maintain their current six game lead. They still have the best record in baseball at 79-48, but the Angels are just 3.5 games behind them at 75-51. If the Yankees end up playing the Angels in October I would feel a lot more comfortable if they had home field advantage, so that's something to keep track of down the stretch.

The White Sox come into this series after dropping three of four to the Red Sox up in Fenway. They're currently 64-64, just four games behind the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers, and 9.5 games out in the Wild Card race.

There was talk that Jake Peavy would start the middle game of the series, but the Sox have decided to give him another start in the minors. So with that game's starter still undecided the Yanks will have to deal with Mark Buehrle in tonight's game and Freddy Garcia on Sunday. Historically they've handled both pitchers pretty well so hopefully history can repeat itself.

I'd really like to see the Yankees at least take two of the three games, but with Mitre starting on Saturday and Joba Chamberlain, who at this point you just don't know what you're going to get, that might be difficult. With these two potent offenses it could be a busy weekend for the bullpens. Hopefully CC sets the tone tonight and throws a gem.

Meanwhile Boston has a three-game series in Fenway against the Blue Jays and will be facing Scott Richmond, Ricky Romero, and Roy Halladay. The Sox beat up both Romero and Halladay a few weeks ago in Toronto, so I don't feel so great about that series.

There is a lot of rain in the forecast for the weekend with tropical storm Danny sitting off the coast, so there may be a rainout or two. Post your predictions for the series in the comments section below.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Tonight @ 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: MY9, WCBS
LHP CC Sabathia (15-7, 3.59) vs. LHP Mark Buehrle (11-7, 3.92)

Game 2: Tomorrow @ 1:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS
RHP Sergio Mitre (2-1, 6.82) vs. TBA

Game 3: Sunday @ 1:05 p.m. | TV/Radio, YES, TBS, WCBS
RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-4, 4.34) vs. RHP Freddy Garcia (0-1, 6.75)

Players to Watch

YANKEES: Melky Cabrera - The reason I pick the struggling Cabrera is because he's at a point in the season where his days of playing everyday are coming to an end. Brett Gardner is on his way back, and if Melky continues to play like he has over the last month then I have to think that Gardner will get the bulk of the playing time as long as he produces like he was before hitting the DL.

Melky had a pretty good series in Chicago when these two teams met earlier in the month but since the day he hit for the cycle he's hitting just .171/.225/.232 with a homer and 8 RBI in 21 games.

He's done very well in his career against the White Sox, hitting .301/.333/.591 with 6 HR and 17 RBI in 25 games.

Cabrera vs. Buehrle: 4-for-8, HR, 4 RBI, 2B,
Cabrera vs. Garcia: 1-for-7, 2B, 2 K

WHITE SOX: Gordon Beckham - The 22-year-old rookie third baseman had a very impressive series against the Yanks in Chicago, going 7-for-19 with five doubles and driving in seven runs over the four-game set. He was one of the main reason the Yankees dropped three of the four games.

Overall he's had a pretty impressive rookie campaign, hitting .279/.357/.450 with 8 HR, 22 doubles, and 47 RBI in his first 74 big league games. There's a reason this guy was the 8th pick in the draft last year and why he needed just 59 minor league games before reaching the majors. He will be key part of the White Sox lineup for years to come.

He's slowed down since the Yankees series. In his last 21 games he's hitting just .195/.316/.329 with 2 HR and 9 RBI. Hopefully that doesn't mean he's due for another big series.

Beckham vs. Sabathia: 3-for-4, 2 doubles, RBI
Beckham vs. Mitre: 0-for-1, RBI
Beckham vs. Chamberlain: NR

Injury Report

YANKEES:
- Chien-Ming Wang, SP: 15-day DL is done for the year after arthriscopic surgery on his shoulder. He will likely be out for 12 months.
- Xavier Nady, RF: Done for year, season-ending Tommy John surgery. 10-12 months to recover.
- Brett Gardner, CF: 15-day DL with a broken bone in his hand. He's starting swinging the bat this week and should start some rehab games next week.

WHITE SOX:
- DeWayne Wise, CF/RF: 15-day DL with a strained joint in his right shoulder.
- Chris Getz, 2B: 15-day DL with a strained oblique.
- Bartolo Colón, SP: 15-day DL with right elbow inflammation.
- Jake Peavy, SP: 15-day DL with a strained tendon in his right ankle.