New York @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 30, 2010 ) NY Yankees 2, Tampa Bay 3
Matt Garza may be coming off the first no-hitter in franchise history, but his next start may prove to be more important.
Garza will try to move the Tampa Bay Rays back into a tie for first place in the AL East when they face the New York Yankees again on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Garza dominated the Detroit Tigers on Monday, issuing just one walk and striking out six while facing the minimum to record the first no-hitter in Rays history. The right-hander has always had dominating stuff, it’s just a matter of him being able to keep his emotions and command in control long enough make it through the game.
Garza held it together against the Tigers, throwing 80 of his 120 pitches for strikes and trusting his defense to do the rest.
Following up a no-hitter has been a common theme in the majors this season, with Roy Halladay, Edwin Jackson and Ubaldo Jimenez all managing to preside over a win in their next outing. Garza has to hope he is more like those three than Dallas Braden, who went over two-and-a-half months before finding the win column again after tossing a perfect game on Mother’s Day.
A win on Saturday would give Tampa Bay eight straight victories and move the club into a tie for first place for the first time with the Yankees since the middle of June.
The Rays moved to within a game of the top with a 3-2 win in the series opener on Friday. Wade Davis pitched seven strong innings and Matt Joyce clubbed a three-run homer in the sixth inning to provide the difference.
Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in the loss and has now gone 38 plate appearances without a homer since hitting career blast 599 last Thursday against the Kansas City Royals. The All-Star has had some success against Garza in the past, going 7-for-15 with a homer in his career.
Garza has been solid but unlucky against the Yankees in his career, owning a 3.26 ERA against the division rivals. He is just 1-3 record in nine appearaces - eight starts.
Rodriguez could have some help in the lineup on Saturday, with rumors swirling on Friday that New York had a deal in place to acquire veteran slugger Lance Berkman from the Houston Astros.
Looking to hold off the surging Rays for the Yankees will be Javier Vazquez. The right-hander earned a win last time out at the Cleveland Indians, allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings while striking out five.
He faced the Rays in his first start of the season on April 9, getting lit up for eight runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings to absorb the loss.