Kansas City @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 23, 2010 ) Kansas City 1, NY Yankees 7
The Kansas City Royals halted Alex Rodriguez's bid for his 600th home run on Friday. They had no such luck slowing down the New York Yankees.
Trying to become the seventh player in major-league history to hit 600 home runs, Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a walk but failed to homer on Friday. A-Rod will get another chance Saturday as the Yankees host the Kansas City Royals.
New York scored four times in the bottom of the first inning and cruised to a 7-1 victory. The Yankees have won 13 of their last 16 games and continue to stretch their lead in the AL East.
While New York keeps on rolling, it doesn't seem satisfied with its current rotation.
According to reports, the Yankees, who lost out on their bid to acquire Cliff Lee a couple of weeks ago, have set their sights on Arizona right-hander Dan Haren. New York lost Andy Pettitte to a mild groin strain a week ago and has had concerns about A.J.Burnett's consistency.
Haren is 7-8 with a 4.60 ERA and is tied or the National League lead in strikeouts with 141.
Burnett, however, bounced back nicely on Friday from an unsettling outing in his last appearance. Burnett lasted just two innings in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays a week ago and left the game after suffering cuts on both hands while pounding a set of double doors in the clubhouse in frustration.
On Friday, he pitched five innings of shutout ball. Burnett didn't return after a lengthy rain delay but improved to 8-8 after allowing just four hits.
Sergio Mitre (0-1) will be making just his third start of the year for the Yankees on Saturday. Mitre is taking the place of Pettitte, who is scheduled to miss up to five weeks. Mitre is returning from a stint on the disabled list with a strained left side.
The Royals will counter with Kyle Davies (4-6). Davies is 1-0 against the Yankees in his career with a 2-1 win early in the 2008 season. He has had no success against Rodriguez. In four plate appearances against Davies, A-Rod has three hits - including a home run.
A-Rod has a long history of home runs against the Royals. He hit his first major league home run against them while with the Seattle Mariners. He also hit his 500th against Kansas City.
After hitting his 499th home run, it took A-Rod 10 days to reach the 500 mark. He may have a sense of urgency to reach the 600 mark this weekend. The Yankees go on a seven-game round trip after Sunday's game.
The Royals have lost center fielder David DeJesus for the rest of the season. DeJesus suffered a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb while trying to catch a ball hit by Derek Jeter in Friday night's game.
DeJesus gloved the ball for a second but then crashed into the wall with his arm extended. He immediately dropped the ball and fell to the warning track. Jeter raced around the bases for an inside-the-park homer and DeJesus had to leave the game.
The Royals recalled Alex Gordon to take his place.