Texas @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Apr 17, 2010 ) Texas 3, NY Yankees 7
The Bronx Bombers? Well, not quite.
In winning their first two games against the Texas Rangers, the New York Yankees have had 10 infield hits, including six Saturday afternoon.
To be fair, though, the Yankees showed power too, as Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez both went deep in a 7-3 victory.
The Yankees go for their first series sweep of the season today with left-hander Andy Pettitte taking the hill against Rangers right-hander Rich Harden.
Pettitte has gotten off to solid start this season, going six innings in both of his starts. He allowed a run on six hits with four strikeouts in his season debut against the Red Sox on April 7. Then he picked up his first victory of the season in his last start, allowing no runs and five hits with six strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.
Pettitte hasn’t had great success against the Rangers, however, going 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts and a lifetime 10-9 record with a 5.41 ERA in 22 starts.
Against two of the Rangers’ key hitters, Pettitte has also struggled. Vladimir Guerrero is 9-for-23 with three doubles and David Murphy is 4-for-8 with a double, a home run and three RBIs.
Likewise, two of New York’s best hitters have fared well against Harden. Rodriguez is 6-for-20 with a home run and Jeter is 6-for-16 with two doubles and four walks.
Harden, though, is coming off a strong start, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings in the Rangers’ 4-2 victory over Cleveland on Monday.
Pitch count has still been an issue with Harden, who has already issued eight walks this season. He needed 104 pitches on Monday and, in his first start of the season against Toronto, Harden threw 90 pitches in 3 2/3 innings.
Despite his high pitch counts, Harden has displayed ace-type stuff. Opponents have hit only .182 off him and he has 10 strikeouts over 9 2/3 innings. Against the Yankees, Harden is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in seven lifetime appearances, including six starts.
More than anything, the Rangers need to get their defense in line. They have committed errors in three consecutive games, which is highly unusual for a Ron Washington-led team.
A day after a throwing error from first baseman Chris Davis led to two unearned runs for the Yankees, the Rangers again gifted another run to the Yankees on Saturday. Texas catcher Taylor Teagarden made a terrible throw in the third inning to try and catch Brett Gardner stealing second, which allowed Curtis Granderson to score.
While that run didn’t cost the Rangers the game, it only served as yet another example of why they are on a three-game losing skid.