Texas @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Apr 16, 2010 ) Texas 1, NY Yankees 5
In his last start against the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers right-hander Scott Feldman was going to throw seven innings, regardless of his pitch count.
As it worked out, Feldman hurled 117 pitches to go seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, to lead the Rangers to a 9-2 victory over the Mariners.
Texas needs a similar effort from Feldman on Saturday, too, especially after the team fell to the New York Yankees, 5-1, in a rain-shortened, six-inning game to open a three-game series on Friday night.
Feldman (1-0, 2.57 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Rangers against Yankees right-hander A.J. Burnett (1-0, 3.75 ERA)
Feldman, who is the leader of the Texas staff this season, has fared well against the Yankees in the past. In four lifetime games, including three starts, he is 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA. And, in his only start at Yankee Stadium last year, Feldman went 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts, to pick up the victory.
On top of a solid outing from Feldman, the Rangers (5-5) need to cut down on defensive mistakes.
On Friday, an error by first baseman Chris Davis led to two unearned runs for the Yankees (7-3). Only one day earlier, Texas made two errors in the eighth inning - one by Michael Young and one by Elvis Andrus - that helped the Cleveland Indians rally for a 3-2 victory.
Defensive mistakes never sit well with Texas manager Ron Washington, either. Washington is a defensive coach and, when he was with the Oakland Athletics, Eric Chavez even gave Washington his Gold Glove with a note saying, ‘Not without you, Wash.’
The team's offense also needs a lift. Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia shut down the Rangers on Friday, holding them to one run and allowing only three hits over six innings.
Texas, though, will have a hard time getting an offensive outburst against Burnett.
Last year, Burnett pitched well against the Rangers in his three starts, going 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA with 27 strikeouts. In nine career games against Texas, Burnett is 3-3 with a 4.05 ERA.
Burnett is also coming off a solid start in his last outing, going seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits with one strikeout in the Yankees’ 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on April 11.
Offensively, the Yankees would like to see more production out of the middle of their lineup, especially after Nick Johnson, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez (the team's Nos. 2-3-4 hitters) went a combined 0-for-6 on Friday.
Against Feldman, though, several Yankees have had success, including Curtis Granderson (4-for-6 with three home runs), Derek Jeter (two home runs in nine at-bats) and Teixeira (3-for-10 with a double, a home run and 3 RBIs).