(30-26) Cleveland Indians @ (31-24) New York Yankees
Probable Starters:
Game 1 (June 3rd) : 7:00 PM | Justin Masterson (8-3); 3.07 ERA vs Andy Pettitte (4-3); 3.83 ERA
Game 2 (June 4th) : 7:05 PM | Scott Kazmir (3-2); 5.13 ERA vs David Phelps (3-3); 4.65 ERA
Game 3 (June 5th) : 1:05 PM | Corey Kluber (3-3); 4.36 ERA vs CC Sabathia (5-4) 3.71 ERA
Game 1 (June 3rd) : 7:00 PM | Justin Masterson (8-3); 3.07 ERA vs Andy Pettitte (4-3); 3.83 ERA
Game 2 (June 4th) : 7:05 PM | Scott Kazmir (3-2); 5.13 ERA vs David Phelps (3-3); 4.65 ERA
Game 3 (June 5th) : 1:05 PM | Corey Kluber (3-3); 4.36 ERA vs CC Sabathia (5-4) 3.71 ERA
How they got here:
The Tribe are continuing their woes after taking only 1 out of 3 with Tampa Bay. They have lost 7 of their last 10, and look to get back on track this series against the Bronx Bombers. This will be the second meeting for the two teams, with New York owning a 3-1 record against Cleveland this season. They are currently a half a game behind Detroit in the AL-Central.
The Yankees come into this series with almost the same struggles as Cleveland. They have also lost 7 of their last 10, including being swept in 4 games by their cross-town rival Mets, and dropping 2 out of 3 to the arch-nemesis Boston Redsox. The Bombers will attempt to right their ship in this three game series before hitting the road for a 10 game West Coast trip. New York is currently 3 games behind Boston in the AL-East.
The Yankees come into this series with almost the same struggles as Cleveland. They have also lost 7 of their last 10, including being swept in 4 games by their cross-town rival Mets, and dropping 2 out of 3 to the arch-nemesis Boston Redsox. The Bombers will attempt to right their ship in this three game series before hitting the road for a 10 game West Coast trip. New York is currently 3 games behind Boston in the AL-East.
Season rankings: (ML-ranking)
Runs Scored:
Cleveland .271 (4th)
New York .223 (18th)
Batting Average:
Cleveland .260 (9th)
New York .246 (20th)
On-Base Percentage:
Cleveland .328 (10th)
New York .307 (21st)
Slugging Percentage:
Cleveland .441 (3rd)
New York .400 (17th)
Fun fact: For the season, Cleveland has scored 124 two-out runs, which is good for the most in the big leagues
Impact players for the series:
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| Justin Masterson takes on Andy Pettitte Monday |
Cleveland: Justin Masterson/Nick Swisher
It’s tough to justify a player who will only make one appearance during the series as the impact player, so I’m going to choose two! The last time Masterson met the Yankees, he threw a complete game 4-hit shutout. It will be interesting to see how he comes back in this game after such a masterful performance. Swisher on the other hand, is making his first appearance back to his former home of New York since becoming a member of the Tribe. His career slash line in Yankee Stadium is .269/.372/.460 with 46 home runs and 160 RBIs. Look for him to want to show Bombers why it was a mistake to let him go.
It’s tough to justify a player who will only make one appearance during the series as the impact player, so I’m going to choose two! The last time Masterson met the Yankees, he threw a complete game 4-hit shutout. It will be interesting to see how he comes back in this game after such a masterful performance. Swisher on the other hand, is making his first appearance back to his former home of New York since becoming a member of the Tribe. His career slash line in Yankee Stadium is .269/.372/.460 with 46 home runs and 160 RBIs. Look for him to want to show Bombers why it was a mistake to let him go.
Honorable mention: Michael Bourn
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| New York's All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano |
New York: Robinson Cano
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Cano currently holds a season slash line of .290/.349/.529, with 14 home runs and 36 RBIs. It was the first series against Cleveland where Cano really got things going when he went 7-for-10 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs in two games. Look for him to continue to be the biggest offensive threat as the Yankees are without Granderson, Teixeira, and Youkilis.
Keys for the series:
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| Jason Kipnis pumping up the crowd after a walk-off hit |
2. Solid starting pitching: For the most part, Cleveland starters have been solid to this point in the season. Masterson and McAllister have had some shaky starts, but more times than none they keep the team in the game. Kluber has enjoyed a hot streak as well, and his matchup with CC will be a big test for him. Ubaldo Jimenez has enjoyed sporadic moments of dominant pitching mixed with a few awful shellings. Scott Kazmir has pitch almost identical to Ubaldo with a smaller sample size. With the bullpen’s recent struggles, it is important for this rotation to stay together.
3. Hit the Yankees while they are down: with the cast of misfits that New York has put on the field this season, it is very hard to believe they are playing as well as they have to this point. Cleveland needs to take advantage that they are playing against the names of: Nix, Overbay, Brignac, Stewart, Hafner, and Suzuki.
Staff Predictions:
Jimmy: Tribe takes two of three.
Danny: Wouldn't count a sweep out for us. Yankees have brought back Texiera and Youkillis, and they have been struggling, as Lyle Overbay was playing much better. Kluber pitched extremely well before the rain decided to shut him down, he had 4 K's in 2 innings. Honestly, if we don't take two out of three against Papa Pettite and other no name Yankee starting pitchers, I'll be extremely surprised.
Jake: Tribe takes two out of three. Masterson and Kazmir are able to limit damage, but Kluber can't pitch up to his competition.
Cody:
Staff Predictions:
Jimmy: Tribe takes two of three.
Danny: Wouldn't count a sweep out for us. Yankees have brought back Texiera and Youkillis, and they have been struggling, as Lyle Overbay was playing much better. Kluber pitched extremely well before the rain decided to shut him down, he had 4 K's in 2 innings. Honestly, if we don't take two out of three against Papa Pettite and other no name Yankee starting pitchers, I'll be extremely surprised.
Jake: Tribe takes two out of three. Masterson and Kazmir are able to limit damage, but Kluber can't pitch up to his competition.
Cody:
Next series: @ Detroit Tigers, Fri-Sun
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