June 30, 2008

Home games: Rangers, Red Sox to test Yankees' Joba

NewYorkology contributor Scott Ross keeps you abreast of upcoming Mets and Yankees home games in New York City. Ross toils in anonymity for a giant online news aggregator. Here’s your look at major league baseball in New York City this week:

Since finding themselves at a season-worst five games under .500 on May 18, the Yankees have gone on a tear, winning 23 of 36. Unfortunately for the Bombers, so did the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Devil* Rays.

If the Yankees manage to fight their way into the playoffs, it will be thanks to the development of Joba Chamberlain, who has been progressively more dominant with each start. Since his first start against Toronto, New York’s team ERA has fallen 15 points, as they have compiled a 3.86 ERA over the past 23 games. And in his past two starts, Chamberlain has given notice that he is in the hunt for the AL Rookie of the Year Award, striking out 16 in 12 1/3 innings while allowing only one run.

That said, most of Chamberlain’s success as a starter has come against teams from the woefully inferior National League (the AL is 141-96 in inter-league play thus far.) This week, however, he will take the hill against the two most potent offenses in the AL, the Texas Rangers and the defending world champion Boston Red Sox. But let’s be honest, only one of these series matters.

With the season half-over, the Yankees are in third place, 5 1/2 games back from Boston. Now is New York’s chance to start taking a bite out of that lead and with Yankee-killer David Ortiz still nursing a nasty wrist injury, they won’t get a much better opportunity.

With Daisuke Matsuzaka missing a handful of starts and Josh Beckett’s maddening inconsistency, the Sox have been kept afloat largely thanks to the work of Jon “Cancer Boy” Lester and Justin Masterson. Between them they’ve started 24 games — of which Boston has won 18 — with a 3.23 ERA.

Game of the week: Every game is huge when it’s Sox vs. Yankees, but Saturday features a match-up of Chamberlain and Masterson, one that has a chance to be revisited for years to come as part of baseball’s best rivalry.

*Yes, I know, they changed their name, they’re idiots.

Texas Rangers at New York Yankees
Monday at 7:05 p.m., Scott Feldman (1-3) vs. Joba Chamberlain (2-2)
Tuesday at 7:05, p.m. Kevin Millwood (5-4) vs. Mike Mussina (10-5)
Wednesday at 7:05, p.m. Kason Gabbard (2-3) vs. Dan Giese (1-3)

Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Thursday at 7:05 p.m., Jon Lester (6-3) vs. Andy Pettitte (8-5)
Friday at 1:05 p.m., Josh Beckett (7-5) vs. Darrell Rasner (4-5)
Saturday at 3:55 p.m., Justin Masterson (4-1) vs. Joba Chamberlain (2-2), cap day
Sunday at 8:09, Tim Wakefield (5-5) vs. Mike Mussina (10-5), All-Star game bat day

Tickets to Yankees games can be purchased here. See NewYorkology’s guide to Yankee Stadium for the rundown on how to get there, where to meet, eat and eventually, sit.

Next Week: The Mets have a chance to make up some ground as they play host to two of the worst teams in the NL, the Giants and the Rockies, while the Yankees host the Devil Rays for two days before heading off to Pittsburgh and Toronto.

Image source: Forever Collectibles New York Yankees Final Season 2008 Statue of Liberty Statues on Parade 9-inch figure

June 30, 2008 10:30 AM in Kids, Out of Manhattan, Sports

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