New York @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 22, 2010 ) NY Yankees 9, Arizona 3
Javier Vazquez failed miserably in his first stint with the New York Yankees.
After a slow start to the season, Vazquez is beginning to show that he can be a contributor and not a liability in the Yankees' quest to repeat as World Series champions.
The resurgent Vazquez takes the hill today seeking a fourth win in five starts when New York wraps up a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Yankees won their 27th World Series title last October and added Vazquez (6-6, 5.01 ERA) in the offseason to bolster an already strong rotation.
The move got mixed reviews from Yankees’ fans, who are still haunted by his first go-round with the Bronx Bombers.
Pitching in relief of Kevin Brown, the right-hander yielded a critical grand slam to Johnny Damon in Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, capping the Yankees’ epic collapse against the hated Boston Red Sox.
The Yankees traded him to Arizona the following offseason.
Three teams and five years later, Vazquez enticed the New York brass to give him another shot by winning 15 games and posting a career-best 2.87 ERA with Atlanta last season.
But an inauspicious start to 2010 (1-3 with a 9.78 ERA in five starts) caused many to question if he has the mental "make-up" to pitch in New York and wonder if he would jeopardize the Yankees' chances of repeating.
Luckily for the Yankees, Vazquez had begun to prove his doubters wrong. The 33-year-old is 4-2 with a 3.17 ERA in his last seven starts. He had his three-start winning streak snapped on Friday, despite allowing just one run and three hits in seven innings against the New York Mets.
He has had success against the Diamondbacks. Vazquez posted a 2.03 ERA in two starts against his former team last season, but did not receive a decision in either one. He is 5-3 with a 3.74 ERA in 14 starts vs. the Diamondbacks.
In 2005, he went 11-15 with a 4.42 ERA in his lone season with Arizona.
Vazquez will try to help the Yankees improve to 2-1 on a six-game road trip. Andy Pettitte threw seven solid innings and Alex Rodriguez homered as New York evened the series at a game apiece with a 9-3 rout Tuesday.
The Yankees battered the Diamondbacks’ major league-worst bullpen (7.36 ERA) for six runs in the eighth inning to break open a 3-2 game.
The beleaguered bullpen may be in for another long day with Dontrelle Willis (2-2, 4.78) on the hill. Willis’ control problems (43 walks in 58 1/3 innings) could prove fatal against a patient Yankees lineup.
Willis is making his fourth start with Arizona since being acquired from the Detroit Tigers on June 1.
The left-hander went 1-2 with a 4.98 ERA in eight starts and one relief appearance with Detroit before being designated for assignment May 30. Willis was victorious his first start with Arizona, but has a 6.99 ERA in his past two outings.
His only start against the Yankees came in 2006 with Florida, when he allowed two earned runs and seven hits in eight innings of a 2-1 loss.