Post by dyf7 on Aug 8, 2006 10:39:34 GMT -5
Yanks start important stretch in Chicago
New York (66-42) at Chicago (65-44), Tuesday, 8:05 p.m. ET
By Michael Gluskin / MLB.com
Since a 19-1 loss at Cleveland on July 4, which kept the Yankees a season-high four games out of first place in the American League East, New York is 19-7. They've surged into first place and now lead the Red Sox by two games.
Their first-place status will be challenged over the next three weeks, when the Yankees play arguably their toughest stretch of the season -- 21 games in 20 days. That span includes a five-game series at Boston and 15 of the 21 games are against teams with records above .500.
"The nice part is we have our own destiny in our own hands," Jason Giambi said.
That stretch gets under way Tuesday in Chicago, where the Yankees begin a three-game series against the White Sox. The teams met in mid-July to start the second half of the season, and New York took all three from the White Sox, outscoring them 26-12.
"Chicago's definitely one of the best teams in the league," Derek Jeter said. "You just take it one series at a time and hopefully we continue to play like we have been."
The two teams split their six meetings in 2005, with the Yankees taking two of three from the eventual World Series champions at U.S. Cellular Field. New York has won four of the last five series in Chicago.
With the sweep last month, the Yankees set the tone for their post-All-Star break play so far. They are 16-6 in the second half, and have won 10 of 12. The Yankees are 11-1-1 in their last 13 series, and have scored at least five runs in 13 of the past 14 games.
New York solidified its roster around the trade deadline, and the team is 5-1 since July 31. Bobby Abreu is batting .400 in six games with the team, and Craig Wilson is hitting .312 in four games with three RBIs. Starter Cory Lidle won his first outing as a Yankee, giving up one run and four hits in six innings.
The White Sox really struggled after getting swept in the Bronx, but have won their last three series. They just finished a nine-game road trip, going 6-3. Chicago leads the AL Wild Card race by a half-game over Boston and Minnesota.
The Yankees will take advantage of Monday's off-day to align their roation for the White Sox series and the next several weeks. Chien-Ming Wang will pitch Tuesday, his first start of the year versus Chicago. Wang has won five straight games and has not allowed a run in his last 18 innings. He's given up only six hits over his last 17 innings.
Freddy Garcia will start for the White Sox, after losing his last outing in Kansas City. Garcia gave up five runs on 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings against the Royals, extending his winless streak to six starts. He faced the Yankees on July 16, and yielded six runs in seven innings en route to a loss.
Pitching matchup
NYY: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (13-4, 3.58)
Since the All-Star break, Wang is 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA.
CWS: RHP Freddy Garcia (10-7, 4.87)
Garcia is 4-3 with a 4.23 ERA in eight career starts versus New York.
Player to watch
Giambi is 8-for-32 (.250) lifetime against Garcia, with a home run, five RBIs and nine walks. Giambi went 3-for-3 Sunday, hitting his 32nd home run and an RBI double.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes
On television
• YES
On radio
• WCBS
Up next
• Wednesday: Yankees (LHP Randy Johnson, 11-9, 5.11) at White Sox (RHP Jon Garland, 12-3, 4.99), 8:05 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Yankees (RHP Mike Mussina, 13-4, 3.46) at White Sox (RHP Javier Vazquez, 10-6, 5.18), 8:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Angels (TBA) at Yankees (TBA), 7:05 p.m. ET
Michael Gluskin is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Last 7 Days
Hitting
Player AB R H HR RBI AVG
Phillips 2 0 1 0 0 .500
Giambi 13 5 6 2 6 .462
Abreu 25 4 10 0 1 .400
Posada 15 2 6 2 3 .400
Cabrera 20 3 7 1 2 .350
Wilson 16 2 5 0 3 .313
Jeter 24 6 6 2 3 .250
Rodriguez 25 4 6 0 4 .240
Cairo 10 1 2 0 2 .200
Damon 27 4 5 2 3 .185
Pitching
Player W L S SO IP ERA
Wang 1 0 0 3 8.0 0
Veras 0 0 0 0 2.0 0
Rivera 0 0 2 0 2.1 0
Proctor 1 0 0 0 4.2 0
Ponson 0 0 0 0 1.1 0
Farnsworth 0 0 0 1 1.2 0
Lidle 1 0 0 5 6.0 1.50
Wright 2 0 0 8 11.0 1.64
Mussina 0 1 0 5 5.0 5.40
Johnson 0 0 0 0 6.0 6.00
Villone 0 0 0 5 5.0 7.20
Last 7 Days
Hitting
Player AB R H HR RBI AVG
Thome 13 6 9 1 3 .692
Crede 19 3 9 1 3 .474
Konerko 16 4 7 0 5 .438
Alomar 6 0 2 0 2 .333
Dye 26 1 8 1 7 .308
Pierzynski 18 3 5 1 4 .278
Anderson 18 1 4 0 1 .222
Mackowiak 11 0 2 0 0 .182
Podsednik 23 3 4 0 1 .174
Uribe 6 1 1 1 1 .167
Pitching
Player W L S SO IP ERA
MacDougal 0 0 0 1 1.0 0
Vazquez 1 0 0 13 8.0 1.13
McCarthy 0 0 0 3 5.0 1.80
Riske 1 0 0 3 3.2 2.45
Garland 1 0 0 2 6.0 4.50
Garcia 0 1 0 3 6.2 5.40
Buehrle 0 1 0 5 12.2 5.68
Contreras 0 1 0 4 6.2 8.10
Cotts 0 0 0 3 1.0 9.00
Jenks 0 0 2 3 2.0 9.00
Thornton 0 0 0 0 0.1 54.00
BATTER VS. PITCHER (Career)
vs Freddy An. Garcia
Player AB H HR BB SO AVG
Wilson 2 1 0 0 1 .500
Phillips 3 1 0 0 0 .333
Rodriguez 30 10 4 6 5 .333
Giambi 32 8 1 9 3 .250
Cabrera 4 1 0 0 0 .250
BATTER VS. PITCHER (Career)
vs Chien-Ming Wang
Player AB H HR BB SO AVG
Crede 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dye 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gload 0 0 0 0 0 0
Iguchi 0 0 0 0 0 0
Konerko 0 0 0 0 0 0
Powered by: AccuScore.com
Team Comparison
ChiSox lead the hitting categories, Yanks the pitching
Batting Average
.281
Edge-0-Meter
.285
Runs
601
Edge-0-Meter
625
Hits
1058
Edge-0-Meter
1105
Earned Run Average
4.29
Edge-0-Meter
4.65
Hits Allowed
964
Edge-0-Meter
1047
Opponent Batting Average
.259
Edge-0-Meter
.270
New York (66-42) at Chicago (65-44), Tuesday, 8:05 p.m. ET
By Michael Gluskin / MLB.com
Since a 19-1 loss at Cleveland on July 4, which kept the Yankees a season-high four games out of first place in the American League East, New York is 19-7. They've surged into first place and now lead the Red Sox by two games.
Their first-place status will be challenged over the next three weeks, when the Yankees play arguably their toughest stretch of the season -- 21 games in 20 days. That span includes a five-game series at Boston and 15 of the 21 games are against teams with records above .500.
"The nice part is we have our own destiny in our own hands," Jason Giambi said.
That stretch gets under way Tuesday in Chicago, where the Yankees begin a three-game series against the White Sox. The teams met in mid-July to start the second half of the season, and New York took all three from the White Sox, outscoring them 26-12.
"Chicago's definitely one of the best teams in the league," Derek Jeter said. "You just take it one series at a time and hopefully we continue to play like we have been."
The two teams split their six meetings in 2005, with the Yankees taking two of three from the eventual World Series champions at U.S. Cellular Field. New York has won four of the last five series in Chicago.
With the sweep last month, the Yankees set the tone for their post-All-Star break play so far. They are 16-6 in the second half, and have won 10 of 12. The Yankees are 11-1-1 in their last 13 series, and have scored at least five runs in 13 of the past 14 games.
New York solidified its roster around the trade deadline, and the team is 5-1 since July 31. Bobby Abreu is batting .400 in six games with the team, and Craig Wilson is hitting .312 in four games with three RBIs. Starter Cory Lidle won his first outing as a Yankee, giving up one run and four hits in six innings.
The White Sox really struggled after getting swept in the Bronx, but have won their last three series. They just finished a nine-game road trip, going 6-3. Chicago leads the AL Wild Card race by a half-game over Boston and Minnesota.
The Yankees will take advantage of Monday's off-day to align their roation for the White Sox series and the next several weeks. Chien-Ming Wang will pitch Tuesday, his first start of the year versus Chicago. Wang has won five straight games and has not allowed a run in his last 18 innings. He's given up only six hits over his last 17 innings.
Freddy Garcia will start for the White Sox, after losing his last outing in Kansas City. Garcia gave up five runs on 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings against the Royals, extending his winless streak to six starts. He faced the Yankees on July 16, and yielded six runs in seven innings en route to a loss.
Pitching matchup
NYY: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (13-4, 3.58)
Since the All-Star break, Wang is 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA.
CWS: RHP Freddy Garcia (10-7, 4.87)
Garcia is 4-3 with a 4.23 ERA in eight career starts versus New York.
Player to watch
Giambi is 8-for-32 (.250) lifetime against Garcia, with a home run, five RBIs and nine walks. Giambi went 3-for-3 Sunday, hitting his 32nd home run and an RBI double.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes
On television
• YES
On radio
• WCBS
Up next
• Wednesday: Yankees (LHP Randy Johnson, 11-9, 5.11) at White Sox (RHP Jon Garland, 12-3, 4.99), 8:05 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Yankees (RHP Mike Mussina, 13-4, 3.46) at White Sox (RHP Javier Vazquez, 10-6, 5.18), 8:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Angels (TBA) at Yankees (TBA), 7:05 p.m. ET
Michael Gluskin is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Last 7 Days
Hitting
Player AB R H HR RBI AVG
Phillips 2 0 1 0 0 .500
Giambi 13 5 6 2 6 .462
Abreu 25 4 10 0 1 .400
Posada 15 2 6 2 3 .400
Cabrera 20 3 7 1 2 .350
Wilson 16 2 5 0 3 .313
Jeter 24 6 6 2 3 .250
Rodriguez 25 4 6 0 4 .240
Cairo 10 1 2 0 2 .200
Damon 27 4 5 2 3 .185
Pitching
Player W L S SO IP ERA
Wang 1 0 0 3 8.0 0
Veras 0 0 0 0 2.0 0
Rivera 0 0 2 0 2.1 0
Proctor 1 0 0 0 4.2 0
Ponson 0 0 0 0 1.1 0
Farnsworth 0 0 0 1 1.2 0
Lidle 1 0 0 5 6.0 1.50
Wright 2 0 0 8 11.0 1.64
Mussina 0 1 0 5 5.0 5.40
Johnson 0 0 0 0 6.0 6.00
Villone 0 0 0 5 5.0 7.20
Last 7 Days
Hitting
Player AB R H HR RBI AVG
Thome 13 6 9 1 3 .692
Crede 19 3 9 1 3 .474
Konerko 16 4 7 0 5 .438
Alomar 6 0 2 0 2 .333
Dye 26 1 8 1 7 .308
Pierzynski 18 3 5 1 4 .278
Anderson 18 1 4 0 1 .222
Mackowiak 11 0 2 0 0 .182
Podsednik 23 3 4 0 1 .174
Uribe 6 1 1 1 1 .167
Pitching
Player W L S SO IP ERA
MacDougal 0 0 0 1 1.0 0
Vazquez 1 0 0 13 8.0 1.13
McCarthy 0 0 0 3 5.0 1.80
Riske 1 0 0 3 3.2 2.45
Garland 1 0 0 2 6.0 4.50
Garcia 0 1 0 3 6.2 5.40
Buehrle 0 1 0 5 12.2 5.68
Contreras 0 1 0 4 6.2 8.10
Cotts 0 0 0 3 1.0 9.00
Jenks 0 0 2 3 2.0 9.00
Thornton 0 0 0 0 0.1 54.00
BATTER VS. PITCHER (Career)
vs Freddy An. Garcia
Player AB H HR BB SO AVG
Wilson 2 1 0 0 1 .500
Phillips 3 1 0 0 0 .333
Rodriguez 30 10 4 6 5 .333
Giambi 32 8 1 9 3 .250
Cabrera 4 1 0 0 0 .250
BATTER VS. PITCHER (Career)
vs Chien-Ming Wang
Player AB H HR BB SO AVG
Crede 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dye 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gload 0 0 0 0 0 0
Iguchi 0 0 0 0 0 0
Konerko 0 0 0 0 0 0
Powered by: AccuScore.com
Team Comparison
ChiSox lead the hitting categories, Yanks the pitching
Batting Average
.281
Edge-0-Meter
.285
Runs
601
Edge-0-Meter
625
Hits
1058
Edge-0-Meter
1105
Earned Run Average
4.29
Edge-0-Meter
4.65
Hits Allowed
964
Edge-0-Meter
1047
Opponent Batting Average
.259
Edge-0-Meter
.270