Tampa Rays-NY Yankees: Pregame Notes

The Yankees will try to even their abbreviated three-game set with the Rays this afternoon with Joba Chamberlain on the hill against Matt Garza. Matt Garza pitched well against the Yankees earlier in the year, but the Yankees came back and won the game 7-2. The goal of the Yankees should be to get the starters of the Rays out of the game early and go to work on the questionable and beat up bullpen of the Rays. Here are the pregame notes and lineup, as always, from Peter Abraham.

The Yankees have lost two of three and are 8-6 in their last 14. They enter today tied for first in the loss column. It would be nice if they can beat the Rays the next couple of games heading into the Fenway showdown. The Yanks are 2-9 versus the Rays and Red Sox and that has to change.

Yankee Stadium and Tropican Field are the only two ballparks in baseball that have given up at least one home run in every game played there this year.

The Yankees set the record with 18 straight error-less games, since then they have at least one error in four straight games, it definitely hurt them yesterday.

Melky Cabrera has 23 RBI, and 11 of them have been to tie the game or give the Yanks the lead in the seventh inning or later.

Big Tex has 12 home runs and 35 RBI in his last 26 games, man is he hot. Not coincidentally, he has really shined with A-Rod back. Those two have formed a great bond and they should.

Derek Jeter has 11 stolen bases, he also stole that many last year.

Yankees Lineup

Jeter(SS)
Damon(LF)
Tex(1B)
A-Rod(3B)
Cano(2B)
Posada(C)
Matsui(DH)
Swisher(RF)
Cabrera(CF)