Baltimore @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 6, 2010 ) Baltimore 4, NY Yankees 3
CC Sabathia goes for his 20th victory of the season and the New York Yankees will try to snap a modest losing skid on Tuesday when they meet the Baltimore Orioles in the second contest of a three-game series.
A winner in his last six straight starts, Sabathia (19-5, 3.02 ERA) has not lost since Aug. 1. He'll try to win 20 games in a season for the first time in his career after winning 19 with the Cleveland Indians in 2007 and again with the Yankees last season.
If history is any indication, Sabathia will reach the elusive 20-win mark against Baltimore, a team he has dominated throughout his career.
In 18 career starts against the Orioles, Sabathia is 13-1 with a 2.59 ERA and a pair of complete-game shutouts. He is 4-0 against the Orioles this season. In his last start against them, Sabathia allowed two runs and nine hits in seven innings on June 9.
New York had won eight straight before losing its last two. Despite the pair of setbacks, the Yankees lead the Rays by 2 1/2 games in the AL East race.
On the positive side for the Yankees, they have seen encouraging signs from third baseman Alex Rodriguez in the last two games. After coming off the disabled list on Sunday, Rodriguez has gone 3-for-7 with a home run and three RBIs.
With his two RBIs on Monday, Rodriguez reached 100 RBIs for the 13th straight season and record 14th time in his career. He topped Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx with the honor.
Baltimore actually is a pretty hot team in the AL East, having won three straight and improving to 20-13 under manager Buck Showalter. The Orioles won the final two contests of a three-game series with the Rays and won the first game of this set with a 4-3 triumph over the Yankees on Monday.
Jake Arrieta (4-6, 5.11 ERA) gets the start for Baltimore.
Arrieta has lost his last three decisions, but does have a win over the Yankees this season. Back on June 10 in his major league debut, Arrieta allowed three runs and four hits in six innings of a 4-3 victory.
The Orioles are looking for their fourth straight win and hope to do it with outfielder Adam Jones back in the lineup. Jones has missed the last five games with a shoulder injury.
New York leads the season series, 10-3, and had won seven straight against Baltimore at Yankee Stadium before Monday's setback.