Crocked Yankees Visit Orioles
In the wake of Masahiro Tanaka’s injury, Hiroki Kuroda becomes the lynchpin in the Yankee rotation.
The New York Yankees meet the Baltimore Orioles Friday night in the first of a three-game set between the division rivals.
First pitch at Orioles Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.
New York (46-45, 28-22 road) enters the series with a patchwork pitching rotation and simply willing the All-Star break to arrive.
The Yankees were forced to place Masahiro Tanaka on the disabled list on Wednesday, after the pitcher complained of a sore elbow. The initial prognosis was inflammation of the elbow.
On Thursday that prognosis was upgraded to a partially torn UCL. Recovery time for the injury is projected to be six weeks, although the club is not ruling out the possibility that the 25-year-old may require Tommy John surgery.
The news is one more blow to the Yankees’ already-obliterated rotation, which has already lost CC Sabathia (knee), Michael Pineda (back), and Ivan Nova (elbow).
With the All-Star break upon us, the scenario is leading some to suggest the Yankees bail on the season and become sellers, although – as pointed out by Joel Sherman at the New York Post – there’s not a lot for Brian Cashman to work with, even if the Steinbrenner family does the unthinkable and writes off the season.
For now, Joe Girardi will look to find a way to lead his club into the break with a .500 record. For that, the Yankees need to take one of three from the Orioles.
Having won 13 of the last 19 games, Baltimore (50-41, 24-22 home) has climbed to the top of the AL East standings, taking advantage of the Yankees’ injury woes and a run of poor results for the Toronto Blue Jays.
As things stand, the Orioles own a three-game lead over the Jays, and will look to increase that before the All-Star break. Toronto visits the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend.
The Yankees will lean on Hiroki Kuroda over the next few weeks as they await the return of Tanaka.
Kuroda (6-6, 4.20 ERA) will take to the hill in Friday’s series opener. The right-hander hasn’t been as consistent as a year ago, but things have been on the up in recent games.
The 39-year-old picked up the win on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins, despite only making it through 5 2/3 innings and allowing four runs. For once, Yankee bats were there to help.
Kuroda has now won two of his last three. The loss came in a game against the Blue Jays in which he allowed just two runs, but the Yankees managed to score just one.
- Kuroda is 3-3 with a 3.14 ERA in eight career starts against Baltimore.
Baltimore will counter with Miguel Gonzalez (4-5, 4-22 ERA), looking for his first win since June 17.
Gonzalez has recorded two straight no decisions. The right-hander had a solid outing against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, going eight full innings and allowing just two runs, one earned. The Orioles lost the game 3-2 though.
- Gonzalez is 2-2 with a 4.07 ERA in eight career starts against the New York Yankees.
The Orioles have outscored the Yankees 38-19 in six head-to-head matchups in the Bronx this season, and will hope that offense carries over to Camden Yards.
New York is 5-3 on its current road trip after losing 9-3 to the Cleveland Indians on Thursday.
The Orioles are 8-2 since June 30.
In other news, the Yankees placed Carlos Beltran on the 7-day concussion list Thursday. The designated hitter suffered an eye injury during batting practice on Wednesday.
Carlos Beltran was placed on the 7-day concussion list Thursday.
New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles odds for 07/11/2014
Baltimore (-125) opened as the favorite over New York (+115) on the moneyline.
Baltimore has gone 4-2 against the Yankees this season, with all six games having been played at Yankee Stadium. The next nine games – stretching three series – will all be played at Camden Yards, before four in New York towards the end of September.
The Yankees are 6-3 in their last nine road games and in general have played better away from the Bronx. They’ll look to snatch a win on Friday night.
- New York is 29-32 in night games
- Baltimore is 35-23 in night games
- New York is 17-18 vs. AL East
- Baltimore is 24-17 vs. AL East
- New York is 32-30 vs. right-handed pitching
- Baltimore is 37-28 vs. right-handed pitching
The over/under opened at 9.
Four of New York’s last five games have seen the total go over, while 14 of Baltimore’s last 20 home games have seen the under pay out.
In the six meetings between the two clubs this season, both the over and under has paid out three times.
While recent trends offer us little separation between the over and under, the pitching matchup may favor the under, despite the pitchers’ somewhat elevated ERAs.
Gonzalez has allowed four or more runs in just three of his 15 starts, two of which came way back in April. Meanwhile, Kuroda has allowed four or more runs just twice in his last eight starts.
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The series continues over the weekend with the following start times: Saturday (4:05 p.m. ET); Sunday (8:00 p.m. ET).
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