The Series Ahead: Yankees @ Orioles

Yankees - Orioles
@ Camden Yards
(three games)

On the heels of their first series loss of the season the Yankees head into Baltimore looking to rebound against the lowly O's. Last year the Yanks took 13 of 18 games against this team and they come into town with this Baltimore team owning a league-worst 3-16 record, and they're 0-6 at home. This Oriole team had some high--or at least higher than usual--expectations this year, and they've greeted those expectations with about the worst start to a season possible.

Their main problem has been scoring runs. Currently, they rank 28th in the league with just 62 runs scored over their first 19 games (3.29 runs per). It's a lineup that should be better than it is. Guys like Nolan Reimold, Adam Jones, Julio Lugo and Luke Scott have all started the year hitting .220 or worse, Nick Markakis remains homerless, and Brian Roberts is on the 15-day DL. You would expect most of these guys to turn things around and Roberts will be back, so this team probably isn't as bad as their record says they are. I just hope they stay this bad for at least another three days. They also have bullpen issues, with closer Mike Gonzalez on the DL, and 5 blown saves already this year.

While the Yankees did lose two of three to the Angels, they're still 12-6 and just a game and a half behind the first place Rays. Some slow starts here and there, but for the most part this team looks very good. Robinson Cano has impressed me the most over the first 18 games. As I mentioned the other day, he leads the team in almost every offensive category, and has really become a force in the middle of that lineup.

Another Yankees who has been very impressive is Phil Hughes, who will be starting the opener tonight against Kevin Millwood. Hughes (2-0, 2.19) is coming off two very good starts to begin the year, including one of the best in his career last week in Oakland. It will be interesting to see if he can build off that and keep this roll going against a struggling O's lineup. Millwood has pitched well to start the year but hasn't had the run support. He's 0-3, with a 3.38 ERA. CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett go in games two and three against Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Matusz.

This shouldn't be a tough series for the Yanks, and they should take at least two of three.

Matchups

Game 1: Tonight @ 7:05 p.m. | TV: MY9 | Radio: WCBS
RHP Phil Hughes (2-0, 2.19) vs RHP Kevin Millwood (0-3, 3.38)

Game 2: Wednesday @ 7:05 p.m. | TV: YES | Radio: WCBS
LHP C.C. Sabathia (2-1, 3.00) vs RHP Jeremy Guthrie (0-2, 3.46)

Game 3: Thursday @ 7:05 p.m. | TV: YES | Radio: WCBS
RHP A.J. Burnett (2-0, 3.20) vs LHP Brian Matusz (2-0, 4.38)

Three Questions

• Is this the real Phil Hughes? There have been high expectation placed on this kid for a while now, is he finally reaching it?
• Is Mark Teixeira ever going to come out of his slump? He hit a few balls hard in the final game in Anaheim, so this could be the series he does break out.
• Can Robinson Cano continue to kill Orioles pitching? In his career he's a .329/.357/.549 hitter against O's pitching, but last year he hit .478/.520.841 with 6 HR and 17 RBI in 18 games.
  

Injury Report

YANKEES:
- RHP Chan Ho Park is on the 15-day DL with a slightly strained hamstring.
- 1B/DH Nick Johnson is day-to-day with a bad back. He should play at some point this series.

ORIOLES:
- OF Felix Pie is on the 60-day DL with a torn latissimus dorsi muscle behind his shoulder and will miss at least 3 month.
- 2B Brian Roberts is on the 15-day DL with a strained abdominal muscle.
- LHP Mike Gonzalez is on the 15-day DL with a strained left shoulder.
- RHP Koji Uehara is on the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring.