New York @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Jun 3, 2010 ) Baltimore 3, NY Yankees 6
The New York Yankees’ high-powered offense was held in check over the weekend by a surprise challenger in the AL East.
On the other hand, the only thing the Baltimore Orioles will challenge for is the worst record in baseball.
The Yankees’ offense looks to get healthy on Tuesday against the Orioles, who have lost the last eight meetings between the teams.
New York (35-22) managed a mere three runs in the first 30 innings of its series with the Toronto Blue Jays (33-25) before scoring four in the eighth of Sunday’s 4-3 win.
Robinson Cano snapped out of a 0-for-12 slide with a go-ahead, two-run single.
Despite being handcuffed by Toronto pitchers, the Yankees are still tied for the most runs scored in baseball (314).
And the Orioles (16-41) know all too well how potent the reigning world champions’ offense can be. New York has outscored Baltimore, 49-20, in winning eight of the nine meetings this season.
That includes a three-game sweep last week by a combined score of 18-5.
The domination goes back further than this season, as the Yankees have won 28 of the last 34 meetings.
New York hopes Alex Rodriguez is available to help extend its run against Baltimore. Rodriguez exited in the ninth inning Sunday with tightness in his groin, but expects to play in the opener.
He is hitting .370 (10-for-27) with a pair of homers off Baltimore’s scheduled starter Kevin Millwood (0-6, 4.29 ERA).
Rodriguez’s teammate Mark Teixeira also has good career numbers against Millwood (6-for-17, two doubles), but is currently struggling to keep his batting average above the Mendoza line.
A notoriously slow starter, Teixeira has just three hits in his last 24 at-bats and his batting a meager .211 with eight homers and 34 RBIs. The Maryland native will likely hear about his struggles from the Orioles’ faithful.
The slugging first baseman has been booed unmercifully in each trip to Baltimore since he spurned his hometown fans in free agency two years ago.
Teixeira certainly won’t get any sympathy from Millwood, who has received minimal run support this season.
His latest loss was all his doing, though. The right-hander allowed a season-high six runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 6-3 loss to the Yankees on Thursday.
He entered that outing with a 3.89 ERA in his first 11 starts – the lowest ERA for a winless pitcher in that span since 1978.
Millwood is 2-5 with a 5.15 ERA in 11 starts vs. New York.
He will be opposed by Phil Hughes (7-1, 2.54), who is looking to move into a tie for the American League lead in wins. The 23-year-old beat Baltimore on Wednesday, allowing one run and six hits in seven innings.
The right-hander is 3-2 with a 5.12 ERA in 10 games – seven starts- vs. Baltimore.
The Orioles snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. Interim manager Juan Samuel earned his first win when Nick Markakis singled home the winning run in the 11th inning.
Samuel took over for Dave Trembley, who was fired on Friday.