New York Turns To CC Sabathia As They Continue Their Chase For The Postseason Against Baltimore
What is there to love about September? I'll tell you what there is to love the chase for the postseason.
The two wild card contenders New York and Baltimore will play game two of their three game set Tuesday at Camden Yards as the two teams look to keep their postseason hopes alive.
New York will turn to 37-year-old veteran CC Sabathia as he takes on Baltimore's Jeremy Hellickson who is relatively new to the club as he was acquired from Philadelphia at the July 31st deadline.
The allure of "Charm City" has dimmed for the Yankees in recent seasons, as the Orioles have had their number in the Inner Harbor. The Bombers have dropped each of their last 11 series at Camden Yards, a streak they will work toward snapping on Tuesday in the second game of a three-game series. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/252341918/turning-on-charm-yanks-eye-more-in-baltimore/?topicId=26688836
Entering play on Monday, the Orioles were 24-9 in home games against the Yankees since the start of the 2014 season. But the Yanks powered their way to a victory in the opener and will look to secure the series when left-hander CC Sabathia takes on right-hander Jeremy Hellickson. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/252341918/turning-on-charm-yanks-eye-more-in-baltimore/?topicId=26688836
"We've had some tough losses here, but they've been a good team for a substantial period of time," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "They're very talented. It's not an easy place to play. We've had some series that I think we could've won, we just weren't able to close them out." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/252341918/turning-on-charm-yanks-eye-more-in-baltimore/?topicId=26688836
The stakes are even higher with both clubs jockeying for postseason position. The Yankees maintain a three-game lead over the Twins for the first American League Wild Card and separated themselves from the O's by 4 1/2 games with Monday's win, but both Girardi and Orioles manager Buck Showalter has higher aspirations than settling for a nine-inning roll of the dice. New York is now only 2 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Boston. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/252341918/turning-on-charm-yanks-eye-more-in-baltimore/?topicId=26688836
"We're trying to catch the Red Sox," Showalter said. "September is an eternity, you know? The games inch by little by little. Each day there seems to be another story out of that last day. Can you imagine what college and pro football are like when you've got six or seven days to talk about what that one game meant to everything else?" "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/252341918/turning-on-charm-yanks-eye-more-in-baltimore/?topicId=26688836
Girardi agrees, saying that while peeking at the out-of-town scoreboard is unavoidable, he wants his Yankees to keep their attention on the game in front of them. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/252341918/turning-on-charm-yanks-eye-more-in-baltimore/?topicId=26688836
"Obviously we have to rely on other people for us to catch Boston. That's not the situation you want to be in, but it is," Girardi said. "The other thing is we have to play well and we can't worry about what other teams are doing. We have to focus on what we do." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/252341918/turning-on-charm-yanks-eye-more-in-baltimore/?topicId=26688836
Would the Orioles dare try bunting on Sabathia? The veteran lost his cool when Eduardo Nunez and Andrew Benintendi of the Red Sox tried to take advantage of his bad right knee on Aug. 31 in New York, saying that he thought it was a "weak" approach. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/252341918/turning-on-charm-yanks-eye-more-in-baltimore/?topicId=26688836
Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez will be serving the second game of his three-game suspension on Tuesday. Girardi said that he intends to have Austin Romine start all three games of this series behind the plate. Their only other option is 37-year-old journeyman Erik Kratz. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/252341918/turning-on-charm-yanks-eye-more-in-baltimore/?topicId=26688836
Orioles shortstop Tim Beckham homered to lead off Monday's game, marking his third leadoff home run of the season. Beckham is batting .363 with seven homers, 20 RBIs and 28 runs scored in 33 games since being acquired from the Rays on July 31. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/252341918/turning-on-charm-yanks-eye-more-in-baltimore/?topicId=26688836
As for New York and Baltimore's last game, New York won the opener,
Some might count a team out when they fall behind in the game but you should never do that because sometimes your opponent can rally and come out on the winning end.
That's exactly what happened on Labor Day when New York rallied to beat Baltimore to take game one of the three game series.
After the Orioles homered twice over the first two innings, the Yankees rallied for seven runs, including homers from Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius, for a 7-4 series-opening victory on Monday afternoon at Camden Yards. "according to http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170904252341298/yankees-rally-past-orioles-to-win-opener/?game_pk=492156
New York, winners in three straight and four of its last five, put a little more distance between itself and Baltimore -- moving 4 1/2 games ahead of the O's and within three games of the American League East-leading Red Sox, who were to play later Monday night. The O's are now two games behind the Twins, who are also in action Monday night, for the second AL Wild Card spot. "according to http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170904252341298/yankees-rally-past-orioles-to-win-opener/?game_pk=492156
Down 3-0, New York tied it up with a three-run fourth inning highlighted by Gregorius' two-run homer, which was his 20th of the season. Castro went yard the following frame with a two-run shot to chase Orioles starter Dylan Bundy and give New York a 5-3 lead. "according to http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170904252341298/yankees-rally-past-orioles-to-win-opener/?game_pk=492156
Bundy, coming off a masterful one-hit shutout against the Mariners, went four-plus innings in one of his worst outings of the season. The Yankees added on after that, scoring a pair of runs against three relievers in the sixth. "according to http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170904252341298/yankees-rally-past-orioles-to-win-opener/?game_pk=492156
Yankees reliever Chad Green continued his dominance, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win and improve to 3-0. Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery lasted 4 2/3 innings, giving up the two homers and three runs. "according to http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170904252341298/yankees-rally-past-orioles-to-win-opener/?game_pk=492156
Tim Beckham connected for his third leadoff homer of the season -- all three coming with Baltimore. After Gregorius' second-inning error, Chris Davis went opposite field, putting just enough on the ball to carry out into the left-center-field stands, out of the reach of a leaping Brett Gardner, for a two-run blast. "according to http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170904252341298/yankees-rally-past-orioles-to-win-opener/?game_pk=492156
That was all the scoring the O's would produce until red-hot Wellington Castillo clubbed a two-out solo homer in the ninth. Castillo now has 19 homers on the year, tying a career high. "according to http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170904252341298/yankees-rally-past-orioles-to-win-opener/?game_pk=492156
New York improved to 74-63 and is now 2.5 back of Boston who is leading the American League East with a record of 77-61 while Baltimore drops to 70-68 on the season.
Veteran left-hander CC Sabathia who has a record of 11-5 with a 3.71 earn run average. Sabathia has pitched well in each of his last three outings, Most recently limiting Boston to one run on four hits over six innings on August 31st. Sabathia is 2-0 with a 1.89 earn run average since returning from a right knee injury. He will go up against Baltimore right -hander Jeremy Hellickson who has a record of 8-8 with a 5.15 earn run average. After a solid start with the O's, Hellickson acquired at the Trade Deadline, has struggled recently. The righty has an 8.82 earn run average in his past three games. He went 4/2/3 innings and allowed seven earned runs in Thursday's loss to Toronto. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-orioles/2017/09/05/492171#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=492171
Will CC Sabathia pitch as well as he did against Boston where he limited them to one run on four hits in six innings? Will Jeremy Hellickson have a solid start for Baltimore or will he struggle? Will New York be able to get their offense going against Jeremy Hellickson? Will Baltimore be able to get their offense going against CC Sabathia?
First pitch is set for 7:05 pm. The game will be televised on the Major League Baseball Network and Yes. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-orioles/2017/09/05/492171#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=492171