New York @ Oakland preview
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Last Meeting ( Aug 19, 2009 ) NY Yankees 3, Oakland 2
The New York Yankees have received terrific starting pitching over the first dozen games of the 2010 season from CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and A.J. Burnett. There’s one other talented pitcher, though, that hasn’t yet delivered a decent outing.
New addition Javier Vazquez, who finished fourth in the National League Cy Young voting last season, has struggled in his first two starts and will try to rebound when the Yankees begin a nine-game road trip with a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.
Vazquez has a 9.82 earned-run average in 11 innings. He was roughed up for eight runs by the Tampa Bay Rays in his Yankees debut on April 9 and didn’t fare much better five days later when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheum scored four runs off him in 5 1/3 innings.
That unsightly ERA looks out of place when compared with the fast starts produced by Sabathia (2-0, 2.84 ERA), Pettitte (2-0, 1.35 ERA) and Burnett (2-0, 2.37).
The Yankees feel Vazquez is pressing a bit while trying to make a good impression at the beginning of his second stint with the team. He was acquired in the offseason as part of a five-player trade in which the Atlanta Braves acquired outfielder Melky Cabrera.
Thus far, Vazquez hasn’t looked like the pitcher who went 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA for the Braves last season. In addition, getting booed in his lone start at Yankee Stadium this season surely didn’t help his confidence. He’ll have two starts on the road to iron out his problems before his next time pitching in front of the home crowd.
He’ll be facing a banged-up Oakland squad on Tuesday night. It’s conceivable that first baseman Daric Barton (elbow), second baseman Mark Ellis (hamstring), shortstop Cliff Pennington (wrist) and right fielder Ryan Sweeney (arm, chest) could all be out of the lineup or playing at less than full strength.
Barton underwent an MRI on Monday and the team breathed a sigh of relief when the exam showed the elbow was just deeply bruised. Barton is hitting .310 through the first two weeks of the season.
Needless to say, Oakland’s first day off of the season Monday came at a good time.
On the mound for the A’s will be Gio Gonzalez, who pitched superbly in his lone start against the Yankees last season. He picked up the win by allowing just one run and two hits in 6 2/3 innings.
The left-hander has a 3.38 ERA in two starts this season, allowing two runs in both outings with his win coming against the Angels.
Gonzalez faces a challenge in a Yankees squad that has scored 69 runs in 12 games. Shortstop Derek Jeter (.380), center Jorge Posada (.378) and second baseman Robinson Cano (.340) are off to hot starts.
On the other end of the spectrum is first baseman Mark Teixeira, who is batting just .114 with five hits in 44 at-bats.