New York @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 26, 2010 ) NY Yankees 3, Cleveland 2
Well, if Alex Rodriguez doesn’t hit any more home runs, at least Curtis Granderson is around to pick up the slack.
Granderson will be looking to stay hot when the New York Yankees face the Cleveland Indians again on Tuesday.
Rodriguez has been stuck on 599 career home runs since Thursday, failing to deliver for the home fans in the final three games of a series against the Kansas City Royals over the weekend. The road wasn’t any kinder to the slugger on Monday, as Rodriguez went 0-for-4 against right-handers Jake Westbrook and Chris Perez.
But Granderson has not had any trouble getting the ball in the air lately, homering twice in a 12-6 rout of the Royals on Sunday and providing the difference on Monday when his two-run homer in the eighth inning gave New York a 3-2 lead.
Granderson has been in the middle of quite a few Yankee rallies of late, scoring at least one run in eight of the last 10 games and collecting multiple hits in three of the last six contests. After an injury-plagued first half, Granderson is looking like he could be a key component as New York makes another run at the World Series.
Looking to benefit from any historical home runs for the Yankees will be ace CC Sabathia. The hefty left-hander has not lost since May 23, going 9-0 with a 2.22 ERA in his last 10 starts. Sabathia has not been quite as sharp in his last two starts - allowing six earned runs in 13 1/3 combined innings - but the New York offense has lifted its ace both times.
Sabathia was drafted by Cleveland in 1998 and spent the first 7 1/2 seasons of his career with the club before leaving at the 2008 trade deadline. He has appeared only once as a visitor at Progressive Field, allowing three runs and five hits in seven innings to earn a win for the Yankees last May. In his career, he is 49-39 with a 3.84 ERA in 118 starts at Progressive Field.
Sabathia was knocked around by Cleveland at Yankee Stadium earlier this season, allowing five runs and seven hits in six innings of a no-decision on May 29.
Making his season debut for the Indians on Tuesday will be right-hander Carlos Carrasco.
One of the pieces that came back to Cleveland in the Cliff Lee trade at last season’s deadline, Carrasco made five starts for the club at the end of 2009, going 0-4 while allowing 22 earned runs in 22 1/3 innings. The 23-year-old did nothing to fool major league hitters, surrendering six homers and walking 11 while striking out 11.
A tough start to his 2010 minor league season did nothing to push his status as a future rotation regular, but Carrasco picked it up for the Triple-A Columbus squad over the last two months. He allowed three runs or less in eight of his last 10 starts - striking out 57 in 57 1/3 innings - to earn himself another chance.