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The Yankees closed out the Interleague slate with their best victory of the year, mounting a dramatic four-run comeback in the ninth against the Dodgers on Sunday, before winning the game on MVP candidate Robinson Cano’s two-run homer in the 10th.

New York took two out of three from Los Angeles to finish 11-7 versus the National League. The first-place Bombers (47-28) now welcome in the last-place Mariners (31-44) for a three-game set this week at Yankee Stadium.

The problem for Seattle this year has been hitting. They rank last in baseball in home runs and hits, while placing 27th with a .239 batting average. On the other hand, pitching has been a strength. The Mariners rank eighth with a 3.90 ERA and send two of their best to the hill in the first two games against the Yankees.

Tuesday, June 29 — Phil Hughes (10-1, 3.17) vs. Cliff Lee (6-3, 2.39)

When Hughes was skipped in his last turn in the rotation, it set up quite a pitching matchup for the series opener. The right-hander has won his last five starts, but was held out last week in an effort to keep his innings down during his first full season in the rotation.

The 24-year-old is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in four appearances (one start) against the Mariners. Seattle’s roster hits just .182 (4-for-22) off him, led by Josh Wilson, who is 2-for-4. Russell Branyan, who was recently reacquired by the M’s, has homered off Hughes, but Casey Kotchman, Jose Lopez and Chone Figgins are a combined 0-for-11.

Lee is being considered a hot commodity as the Trade Deadline approaches and the Yankees were once rumored to be a possible suitor, although I’m not sure why New York, which already has three probable All-Stars in its rotation, would need another hurler.

But someone is going to land a Cy Young candidate if the left-hander gets moved, as he has thrown three complete games in his last four starts to position himself atop the American League standings in that category (4), along with ERA and WHIP (0.91).

Lee is 4-4 with a 5.02 ERA in nine regular-season starts against the Bombers, but went 2-0 versus them in the World Series last year, including a masterful Game 1 performance, during which he allowed only one unearned run and struck out 10.

Derek Jeter hits Lee well (11-for-27, .407), as does Mark Teixeira (9-for-23, .391), while lefty Cano (4-for-18, .222) is about the only Yankee who does not.

Wednesday, June 30 — Javier Vazquez (6-6, 5.16) vs. Felix Hernandez (5-5, 3.28)

Vazquez turned in his worst outing in a month against the D-backs last Wednesday, surrendering four runs over five innings. I wouldn’t be surprised if this trend continued now that the Interleague part of the year has finished. The right-hander, who dominated the National League in 2009, went 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA against the NL this season, but is just 4-5 with a 6.30 versus the superior AL. Then again, he may get a reprieve against the light-hitting Mariners.

Vazquez is 4-2 with a 4.35 ERA in six starts against the M’s. Franklin Gutierrez is 4-for-12 (.333) with a homer off him, while Kotchman is 3-for-8 (.375) and Branyan is 3-for-6 (.500) with a remarkable three homers.

Milton Bradley, however, is just 3-for-18 (.167) and Lopez is 2-for-14 (.143).

King Felix tossed his second consecutive complete game his last time out and now leads the league with 112 2/3 innings pitched, while ranking fourth in strikeouts (105).

Hernandez is 2-3 with a 4.59 ERA in five starts against the Yankees, including 1-1 with a 4.97 in the Bronx.

Five Bombers hit better than .300 off the right-hander. Teixeira is 11-for-36 (.306) with three blasts, Curtis Granderson is 9-for-25 (.360), but has 10 strikeouts, Jeter is 5-for-15 (.333), Cano is 5-for-13 (.385) and Jorge Posada is 3-for-5 (.600).

Thursday, July 1 — CC Sabathia (9-3, 3.49) vs. Ryan Rowland-Smith (1-7, 6.18)

If there’s going to be one blowout in this series, this figures to be it. Sabathia probably wishes there were 31 days in June because after a rocky May, he was outstanding last month, going 5-0 with a 2.19 ERA.

The big lefty is 6-4 with a 2.97 in 14 starts versus Seattle. Ichiro Suzuki has battered him around, however, collecting 19 hits in 48 at-bats (.396). Figgins is 5-for-16 (.313), Bradley is 4-for-11 (.364) and Gutierrez is 4-for-9 (.444).

But Lopez (.125), Jack Wilson (.123) and Josh Wilson (.167) each just have two hits in double-digit at-bats against Sabathia.

Rowland-Smith is just holding a spot for the injured Erik Bedard at this point. He allowed five runs and two homers in 5 1/3 innings against the Brewers on Friday.

The left-hander has no record and a 5.29 ERA in six appearances (two starts) versus the Yanks and has allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings of relief in the Bronx.

But maybe all of the guys Rowland-Smith has had trouble with are gone. New York’s roster hits just .189 off him and Teixeira is 2-for-11 (.182).

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Yankees (45-27) square off against former manager Joe Torre for the first time since he left the team after the 2007 season, as New York travels to face the Dodgers in Los Angeles for a three-game series this weekend.

Torre led the Bombers to four World Series titles between 1996-2000, but lost his touch and overworked the bullpen over his final three years in New York, during which the Yanks failed to advance past the American League Division Series.

Now, Torre manages the Dodgers (39-33), a team that stands in third place in the National League West, three games back of first-place San Diego. Los Angeles is a solid offensive team, ranking eighth in baseball with a .267 average, but it has a mediocre pitching staff. The Dodgers strike out the second most batters, but rank 17th with a 4.14 ERA.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups. 

Friday, June 25 – CC Sabathia (8-3, 3.68) vs. Vicente Padilla (1-1, 6.67)

Sabathia starts the opener after the Yankees chose to skip Phil Hughes’ turn in the rotation. Despite the right-hander’s excellent first three months, I don’t have a big problem with this because he is already within four innings of his career high for a season and the organization wants him to be healthy enough to pitch down the stretch.

We all knew this would happen and I’d rather the team do it this way because of an off-day on Thursday, rather than limit him to a certain number of innings or pitches in August or September starts like they did when they destroyed Joba Chamberlain’s career last year. I guess they’re learning.

As for Sabathia, he’s returned to form after a rough May. The big lefty is 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA in June and allowed just four hits over eight shutout innings against the Mets his last time out.

The former Brewer has made one start in his career against Los Angeles, earning a no-decision while surrendering just one run on five hits with 10 strikeouts in seven innings at Dodger Stadium.

Padilla has yielded at least four runs in four of his five starts this season, including his first outing since returning from the disabled list – a four-run, 5 1/3-inning performance at Fenway Park last Saturday.

The ex-Ranger is 1-2 with a 7.65 ERA in four starts against the Yankees. Robinson Cano (4-for-11, .364, HR) and Derek Jeter (4-for-10, .400) have had success versus the right-hander. Nick Swisher (1-for-15, .067, 5 K’s) and Alex Rodriguez (2-for-12, .167) have not.

Saturday, June 26 – A.J. Burnett (6-6, 4.83) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (6-5, 3.06)

Burnett is scheduled to make his next start after leaving the team on Wednesday to be with his ailing grandfather. Who knows if that has been weighing on his mind this month because he is 0-4 with a 10.35 ERA in June.

The former Marlin is 3-2 with a 2.45 in seven starts against the Dodgers, including a 1-2 record and 2.55 ERA in three appearances in Los Angeles.

Rafael Furcal is 9-for-29 (.310) off him, and Garret Anderson is 5-for-14 (.357), but Jamey Carroll is 3-for-13 (.231) with five strikeouts.

Kuroda has been stellar over his past three starts, sporting a 0.95 ERA but just a 1-1 record thanks to very little run support in two of those appearances.

The right-hander has never faced the Yankees, but he has seen Mark Teixeira five times, allowing him two hits and a walk in five at-bats.

Sunday, June 27 – Andy Pettitte (9-2, 2.48) vs. Clayton Kershaw (7-4, 3.24)

It makes sense that the best pitching matchup of the series will be featured on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Pettitte continued his incredible season last outing by giving up two runs or fewer in at least seven innings for the sixth straight time.

He is 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA on the road this year and 2-0 with a 4.05 in three career starts at Dodger Stadium. Overall, he is 2-0 with a 3.33 against L.A.

But the Dodgers’ roster hits .338 off the southpaw, led by Anderson (33-for-82, .402) and old friend Manny Ramirez (32-for-77, .416, 8 2B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 7 BB).

However, Carroll is just 2-for-15 (.133), Furcal is 1-for-12 (.083), Reed Johnson is 1-for-11 (.091) and Casey Blake is 1-for-7 (.143).

Kershaw had his second-worst outing of the season last time out, surrendering five runs in 6 2/3 innings at the Angels. That was only the second time in 15 starts that he had allowed more than four earned runs. Kershaw doesn’t pitch to contact; his 103 strikeouts are fifth in the National League and his 48 walks lead the NL.

The left-hander has never pitched against the Yankes and the only Bomber he’s faced is Nick Swisher, who he retired in one at-bat.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After dropping two of three at home to the Phillies, the Yankees are now just 21-20 against teams with winning records, compared to a staggering 20-5 mark versus losing clubs.

In fact, New York hasn’t taken a series from a team with a current above .500 winning percentage, aside from the Twins, since beating the Red Sox on May 7 and 8.

The Bombers have a chance to reverse that trend in the Subway Series this weekend against the Mets, a team that has won seven straight and took two of three from the Yanks at Citi Field last month.

That first inter-league set was a turning point in the Mets’ season. Since dropping the opener on May 21, the club has gone 18-5 to pull within a half game of the first-place Braves.

And they’ve done it with pitching, improving their season ERA to 3.74, the seventh-lowest in baseball. That’s not good news for the Bombers, who have scored just four runs over the past two games after lighting up Roy Halladay and Co. for eight on Tuesday.

Let’s take a look at this weekend’s pitching match-ups, which are the exact same ones as the series in May.

Friday, June 18 : Javier Vazquez (6-5, 5.43) vs. Hisanori Takahashi (5-2, 3.48)

I’ll be at the stadium for this one, buying all the food and drinks for my girlfriend—a Met fan—after losing our bet in the first Subway Series. And in order to have a shot at winning our wager for Round Two, I’ll need Vazquez to continue his recent dominance.

The right-hander has won each of his last three starts while posting a 2.57 ERA. He’s 2-0 with a 2.08 against the National League—where he flourished last season—including six scoreless innings at Citi Field on May 21.

Vazquez is 10-8 with a 3.24 mark in 24 career starts versus the Mets, and the current roster hits just .238 off him.

Henry Blanco is 4-for-20 (.200), Rod Barajas is 2-for-17 (.118) with six strikeouts, Jose Reyes is 3-for-16 (.188), and Jason Bay, who is dealing with a quad injury, may be wise to take a day off on Friday, as he is 2-for-14 (.143) with six K’s against Vazquez. Alex Cora, however, is 8-for-21 (.381).

Takahashi bounced back from two poor starts by holding the struggling Orioles to one run in seven innings during his last outing.

He went pitch-for-pitch with Vazquez on May 21, tossing six shutout frames, but took a no-decision when the bullpen lost it, 2-1.

That was his first start against the Yankees, and he did well versus Mark Teixeira, Brett Gardner, and Nick Swisher (combined 0-for-8) but gave up doubles to Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano.

Saturday, June 19 : Phil Hughes (9-1, 3.11) vs. Mike Pelfrey (9-1, 2.39)

Might have to get Elias on the phone to find out the last time a pair of 9-1 guys squared off.

Hughes surrendered five runs in 5.2 innings against the Astros on Sunday but still won his fourth consecutive start. That streak started after he yielded four runs over 5.2 innings in his only loss of the season, a 5-3 decision versus the Mets on May 22.

The right-hander has now allowed four runs and 14 baserunners in eight career frames against the Mets, who are hoping Bay is healthy enough to play on Saturday because he is 4-for-9 (.444) with a double off Hughes.

David Wright and Angel Pagan are both 2-for-3, but Barajas, Jeff Francoeur, and Jose Reyes are a combined 0-for-12.

Pelfrey’s only defeat came way back on May 1 at Philadelphia, but he’s turned in seven out of eight quality starts since then, including a one-run, six-inning victory over Hughes and the Yanks on May 22.

The righty is now 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in three lifetime showdowns versus the Bombers and allowed four runs in five innings, but got the win in his only appearance in the Bronx.

A-Rod is 3-for-7 (.429) with two walks off Pelf, but Cano is 2-for-9 (.222), and Derek Jeter is 1-for-6 (.167).

Sunday, June 20: CC Sabathia (7-3, 4.00) vs. Johan Santana (5-3, 3.13)

After going nearly winless in May, Sabathia is undefeated in June, having won all three of his starts with a 3.43 ERA. One of those poor outings last month, however, came at Citi Field on May 23, when he allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits in five innings to take a 6-4 loss in the rubber game.

The big lefty is 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA in three career starts against the Mets and is 4-0 with a 3.07 at home this season.

Facing Sabathia, Barajas is 9-for-29 (.409) with three homers and three doubles, and Bay has two dingers in just 11 at-bats (.818 slugging), but Francouer is 2-for-9 (.222) with three strikeouts.

Outside of his 10-run performance in Philly on May 2, Santana has been very good this year, including a victory over Sabathia and the Yanks on May 23, when he yielded just one run in 7.2 innings.

The southpaw is 5-2 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 games (nine starts) against the Pinstripes but was knocked around for nine runs over three frames in his only appearance at the new Yankee Stadium last year. He was 3-0 with a 2.05 at the old ballpark.

Jeter kills Santana, to the tune of 13-for-30 (.433) with four doubles and a homer. Cano is 8-for-20 (.400), but Teixeira is just 7-for-30 (.233) with six strikeouts, Rodriguez is 5-for-26 (.192), Swisher is 3-for-17 (.176) with 5 K’s, Jorge Posada is 2-for-15 (.133) with six strikeouts, and Curtis Granderson is hitless in 12 at-bats and has been fanned a half-dozen times.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Coming off a sweep of the Astros that propelled the Yankees into a tie with the Rays for the best record in baseball, New York faces a stiffer challenge this week as they play a three-game set with the defending National League champion Phillies.

However, Philly doesn’t appear to be the same team the Bombers beat in last year’s Fall Classic, as they have lost 14 of their past 20 games. The Phils have averaged just 2.4 runs per contest over that stretch and most of these struggles have come since they were accused of stealing signs by using binoculars in the bullpen.

Charlie Manuel’s bunch has been shut out an astounding six times since May 22 while they currently rank 20th in the Majors with a .258 batting average.

Pitching, meanwhile, continues to be a strength, as Philadelphia’s 3.94 ERA puts them 10th in baseball. The upcoming series opens with a tremendous matchup on the mound.

Tuesday, June 15—CC Sabathia (6-3, 4.01) vs. Roy Halladay (8-4, 1.96)

If Sabathia only had to face the Orioles, he’d have no problem winning a second American League Cy Young Award. This season, the big lefty is 4-0 with a 2.73 ERA against the Birds, including a seven-inning, two-run effort in his last outing on Wednesday. But versus everyone else, Sabathia is a more pedestrian 2-3 with a 4.69 ERA.

The former Brewer is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in three regular-season starts against the Phillies, but allowed just five runs in 13 and 2/3 innings (3.29) over two starts during the ’09 World Series.

Placido Polanco has had success against Sabathia, going 14-for-43 (.326) with seven extra-base hits, but Jayson Werth, Chase Utley, and Wilson Valdez are a combined 0-for-12 off him in the regular season. Of course, Utley did smack three homers off the southpaw last fall.

Halladay’s transition to the NL has been expectedly easy, with the right-hander leading the league in complete games (5) and innings pitched (101), while ranking second in wins, fourth in ERA, and a WHIP (1.02). His perfect game at Florida on May 29 was the icing on the cake.

The Yankees were happy to see the former Blue Jay head to the NL because he is 18-6 with a 2.84 in 37 games (35 starts) against them. He was 7-4 with a 2.97 ERA at the old stadium and went 1-0 with a 4.85 ERA in two starts at the new ballpark last year.

Halladay has handled Derek Jeter (22-for-91, .242, 24 K’s) and Robinson Cano (10-for-48, .208), as well as Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner, who are each 4-for-17 (.235) off him.

But Alex Rodriguez is 23-for-77 (.299) with eight extra-base hits and 14 RBIs. In addition, Curtis Granderson is 5-for-12 (.417).

Wednesday, June 16—A.J. Burnett (6-4, 3.86) vs. Kyle Kendrick (3-2, 4.80)

Burnett has allowed 10 runs in 12 and 2/3 innings over his last two starts (both losses.) His problem has been the long ball as he’s surrendered four of them over that span.

The key to Burnett’s success this season has been keeping the ball on the ground. He is 4-0 with a 1.34 ERA when he induces more ground balls than fly balls, but he is 2-4 with a 6.18 when the opposite occurs.

The right-hander is 5-8 with a 4.75 mark in 17 games (16 starts) versus the Phils and had one excellent start and one terrible start against them in the World Series.

Brian Schneider is 9-for-24 (.375) with three doubles off Burnett, but Ryan Howard (2-for-12, .167, 6 K’s), Werth (1-for-7, .143), Ross Gload (1-for-6, .167) and Shane Victorino (1-for-6) have all struggled.

Kendrick pitched two scoreless innings of relief on Friday, but his other 12 appearances this season have been as a starter. He has never faced the Yankees and did not appear in last year’s postseason for the Phillies. However, he did dominate Mark Teixeira, during the first baseman’s two stints with Atlanta, to the tune of 1-for-12 (.083).

Thursday, June 17—Andy Pettitte (8-1, 2.46) vs. Jamie Moyer (6-6, 5.03)

Pettitte continued his dazzling season during his last outing against the Astros when he yielded just two earned runs in 7 and 1/3 innings to take home the victory.

The veteran currently ranks in the top four among AL pitchers in wins, ERA, WHIP (1.10) and winning percentage.

The left-hander is 2-2 with a 3.67 ERA in seven regular-season starts against the Phillies and beat them twice in the ’09 Fall Classic.

Werth is just 1-for-13 (.077) with five strikeouts when facing Pettitte, while Howard (1-for-9, .111) and Utley (1-for-6, .167) struggle as well. Polanco, on the other hand, is 3-for-7 (.429) with a homer.

Moyer’s ERA jumped more than a run after giving up nine in just one inning of work at Fenway Park on Friday. He is now 3-4 with a 6.69 ERA on the road this season and has only had moderate success in the Bronx, going 6-5 with a 4.84 mark in 19 games (18 starts).

Overall, the 47-year-old is 10-9 with a 4.78 ERA in 36 career games (34 starts) against the Yankees.

Facing Moyer, Jeter is 22-for-68 (.324), A-Rod is 21-for-54 (.389) with six homers and 12 RBIs, Jorge Posada is 15-for-45 (.333) and Teixeira is 11-for-36 (.306). Only Granderson (1-for-7, .143) seems to have a tough time versus the left-hander.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Yankees have gone 9-4 since opening a stretch of 16 games against mostly sub-.500 teams on May 28. Now, they have come to the end of Easy Street with three contests versus the Astros.

With tougher Interleague matchups coming up against the Phillies, Mets and Dodgers this month, New York will look to capitalize on its final easy series before it travels to Arizona from June 21-23.

But the Bombers may have to do it without the services of Alex Rodriguez, who suffered a groin injury in the first inning versus Baltimore on Thursday. The slugger is day-to-day and chances are overprotective manager Joe Girardi will keep him out for most of this series to rest him up for the big showdowns next week.

Houston (25-36) has been playing better baseball since opening the season 0-8. The Astros have won eight of 10, and three in a row to climb out of the cellar in the National League Central.

But Houston still has one of the worst offenses in the Majors, ranking dead last with a .237 batting average, 29th with just 36 homers, 28th in RBIs and 27th in hits.

The first Yankees pitcher who will look to keep those numbers down is a familiar face in Texas.

Friday, June 11 – Andy Pettitte (7-1, 2.47) vs. Brett Myers (4-3, 3.01)

Pettitte struck out a season-high 10 batters in his last outing, en route to his third consecutive quality start. The veteran ranks third in the league in ERA and winning percentage and is firmly entrenched in the Cy Young race.

Pettitte faces his former team for the first time, but seven Astros have faced him, including Carlos Lee, who is 9-for-36 (.250), and Jason Michaels, who is 4-for-10 (.400).

Myers will be the toughest pitcher the Yankees see this weekend. The right-hander has allowed just five earned runs over his last four starts and hasn’t lost since May 16 at San Francisco.

The former Phillie is 2-0 with a 3.07 ERA in two starts against New York, and surrendered three runs over eight innings to beat the Yanks last year in the Bronx.

Derek Jeter is 3-for-7 (.429) off him and Rodriguez is 3-for-6 (.500) with two doubles, a homer and two walks. However, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada are a combined 0-for-10.

Saturday, June 12 – Javier Vazquez (5-5, 5.63) vs. Wandy Rodriguez (3-8, 4.95)

Vazquez took a no-hitter into the sixth inning versus the Blue Jays in his last start, which turned out to be his fourth win in his last five appearances. The right-hander is steadily improving after his horrid 1-4, 8.10 beginning to the year, and he should continue to excel as he once again gets a chance to pitch against the lighter-hitting National League, where he dominated last season.

Vazquez is 3-5 with a 4.41 ERA in 13 starts versus Houston. Michaels hits him well at 6-for-18 (.333) with five RBIs and four walks, but Pedro Feliz (6-for-25, .240) and Lance Berkman (5-for-24, .208, 6 K’s) do not.

Rodriguez gave up three runs on nine hits over seven innings at Coors Field on Monday to drop to 1-5 with a 5.49 ERA on the road and second overall in the NL in losses.

The left-hander, who won 14 games last season, yielded five runs in a five-inning loss during his only start against the Yankees. He has never pitched in the Bronx.

Mark Teixeira is just 1-for-10 (.100) with five strikeouts against Rodriguez, while A-Rod is 1-for-2 with a homer and a walk.

Sunday, June 13 – Phil Hughes (8-1, 2.71) vs. Brian Moehler (0-2, 6.12)

Hughes’ win over the Orioles on Tuesday was his third in a row, and he is now second in the league in victories and winning percentage, while holding onto the fourth best WHIP at 1.09, thanks to just 20 walks in 69 2/3 innings.

The right-hander has never faced the Astros and so Michaels, who used to play for the Indians, is the only man on Houston to have faced him (0-for-2).

Moehler has made just three starts in place of Bud Norris, who is out with a biceps injury, and the right-handers last two appearances were a lot better than his first, when he surrendered eight runs on 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings at Cincinnati on May 29.

The former Tiger is 3-6 with a 5.09 ERA in 11 career starts against the Bombers, including a 1-5 record and a 5.95 ERA in seven appearances at the old Yankee Stadium.

A-Rod is 11-for-31 (.355) versus Moehler so hopefully he’ll at least play this game, and Posada is 5-for-12 (.417) with seven RBIs.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After a disappointing 2-5 stretch against three of their biggest rivals, the Yankees finally got an off day before making their first trip to the new Target Field for another difficult series against the American League Central leading Twins.

New York had won 12 straight against Minnesota, including a three-game sweep in last year’s AL Division Series, until Jason Kubel hit a grand slam off Mariano Rivera on May 16 to spark a 6-3 Twins victory.

Including that game, the Bombers have lost six of eight and while many will blame it on injuries, the slide is really due to a slump by the rotation. It’s ironic that the only starter who wasn’t pitching well over the first six weeks—Javier Vazquez—is the only one doing a good job now, as CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, and Phil Hughes have all struggled of late.

The Yankees need to turn things around and grind out a couple wins over the Twins before being rewarded with 13 of the following 16 games coming against teams with losing records.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups for this week’s three-game set.

Tuesday, May 25: A.J. Burnett (4-2, 3.86) vs. Scott Baker (4-4, 4.88)

After starting the season 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA, Burnett has gone 0-2 with an 8.15 mark over his last three starts. The right-hander’s most recent poor outing was a 10-6 loss to Tampa Bay in which he surrendered six runs and 13 baserunners in six-and-two-thirds innings.

Burnett’s only quality start over this stretch was a no-decision versus the Twins on May 14. He allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits and four walks with four strikeouts in six-and-two-thirds frames.

In seven career starts against Minnesota, the 33-year-old is 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA. He was 2-1 with a 3.91 at the Metrodome.

Burnett has done a good job facing Jim Thome (7-for-30, .233, 11 K’s), Michael Cuddyer (2-for-16, .125, 6 K’s), Nick Punto (1-for-13, .077), and Brendan Harris (2-for-12, .167).

But Jason Kubel (7-for-20, .350) and Joe Mauer (7-for-15, .467) have had success.

Baker has dropped his last two starts, including a May 14 defeat at Yankee Stadium. In that game, the right-hander racked up a career-high nine strikeouts, but he yielded five runs on 10 hits over six innings.

The 28-year-old is 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA in four starts against New York, and the Bombers’ roster hits .326 off him.

Marcus Thames is 9-for-29 (.310) with four homers, Mark Teixeira is 6-for-10 (.600), Robinson Cano is 4-for-9 (.444) with three doubles, Brett Gardner is 3-for-5 (.600), and Francisco Cervelli is 2-for-4 (.500).

Interestingly, though, Baker has had success against Alex Rodriguez (1-for-9, .111, 4 K’s).

Wednesday, May 26: Andy Pettitte (5-1, 2.68) vs. Francisco Liriano (4-3, 3.25)

Pettitte had his worst start of the year against the best team in baseball in his last outing, giving up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in five innings against the Rays.

In his previous start, the left-hander shut out the Twins over six-and-one-third innings to improve his career mark against Minnesota to 10-5 with a 3.53 ERA. He was 5-4 with a 3.62 at the Metrodome.

The veteran has silenced Thome (6-for-28, .214, 10 K’s) and Denard Span (1-for-6, .167), but almost everyone else on the team hits over .300 off him.

Brendan Harris is 8-for-19 (.421), Delmon Young is 9-for-16 (.563), Cuddyer and Orlando Hudson are both 5-for-15 (.333), and Justin Morneau is 5-for-13 (.385).

Liriano started the year 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA, but has lost his last three starts, including one to the Yankees on May 15, when he allowed three runs on nine hits in six innings.

The left-hander is now 0-2 with a 3.32 mark in four games (three starts) against New York.

Teixeira (2-for-12, .167, 8 K’s), Cano (2-for-9, .222) and A-Rod (1-for-6, .167) have struggled facing Liriano, but Nick Swisher (4-for-12, .333), Thames (5-for-11, .455, 3 HR), and Derek Jeter (4-for-9, .444) have all had success.

Thursday, May 27: Javier Vazquez (3-4, 6.69) vs. Nick Blackburn (5-1, 4.50)

Vazquez is scheduled to start Thursday, but that could change if his bullpen session Tuesday does not go well. The right-hander injured his finger during a bunt attempt against the Mets on Friday. The setback does not come at a good time for Vazquez, who appeared to finally be figuring things out over his last two starts.

The 33-year-old is 6-6 with a 5.11 ERA in 16 career starts against the Twins. He was 1-5 with a 6.21 at the Metrodome.

Morneau (14-for-40, .350, 6 HR), Cuddyer (12-for-35, .343), and Young (7-for-16, .438) are excited to see Vazquez come to town, while Kubel (4-for-23, .174, 8 K’s), Alexi Casilla (1-for-6, .167), and Span (1-for-6, .167) are not.

After an April in which he went 1-1 with a 6.85 ERA, Blackburn has turned the corner in May to go 4-0 with a 2.67. One of those wins came at Yankee Stadium on May 16, when he allowed three runs in seven innings.

Blackburn is now 1-1 with a 5.33 ERA in five career starts against the Bombers.

He’s blanked Cano over 11 at-bats and held Thames to just one hit in nine tries, but Teixeira is an incredible 8-for-10 (.800) with six RBIs, Jeter is 4-for-11 (.364), and Chad Moeller could get the start as he is 3-for-4 (.750) with two doubles.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Yankees took two of three against the Twins over the weekend, but lost the finale in stinging fashion when Mariano Rivera gave up a grand slam in the eighth inning. New York will have to bounce back from that blow quickly, though, as it welcomes the arch rival Red Sox to Yankee Stadium for a quick two-game set.

The Bombers (24-13) have taken four of six from Boston (19-19) already this season with all of those games being played at Fenway Park.

The Sox — which currently sit in four place, 7 1/2 games back of the leading Rays and 5 1/2 back of the second-place Yanks — continue to struggle from the mound. Boston’s 4.83 ERA is second worst in the American League and the two pitching matchups in this series appear to both be in New York’s favor.

Monday, May 17 – Phil Hughes (5-0, 1.38) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-1, 6.35)

If the AL Cy Young Award was handed out today, Hughes would win it. The young right-hander leads the league in wins, winning percentage, ERA and WHIP (0.92), and he proved he can pitch against the Red Sox on May 7, when he allowed just two runs on seven hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in a seven-inning victory. Hughes is now 1-2 with a 5.85 ERA in nine games (three starts) versus Boston.

He hasn’t given up a hit to Dustin Pedroia (0-for-11), Adrian Beltre (0-for-7, 4 K’s), Jason Varitek (0-for-4), Jeremey Hermida (0-for-3) or Bill Hall (0-for-1).

But J.D. Drew (4-for-6, 4 walks), Mike Lowell (2-for-5), Victor Martinez (3-for-5) and David Ortiz (3-for-4, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, 2 walks) have had success facing Hughes.

Matsuzaka has improved in each of his three starts, culminating with his best performance his last time out, when he yielded just one run on three hits and no walks with nine strikeouts in a 6-1 win over Toronto on Tuesday.

The right-hander is 3-3 with a 5.49 ERA in seven starts versus New York and while he struggled at the old Yankee Stadium (1-1, 6.57), he pitched better at the new ballpark last year (0-1, 1.29).

Dice-K has dominated Robinson Cano (4-for-19, .211, 7 K’s) and Alex Rodriguez (1-for-16, .063, 7 K’s), but a few Yanks have had success facing him.

Derek Jeter is 6-for-14 (.429) with two homers, Jorge Posada is 6-for-12 (.500) with three doubles and Nick Swisher is 3-for-10 (.300), but questions still linger about his ability to bat from the left side due to a biceps injury.

Tuesday, May 18 – CC Sabathia (4-2, 3.71) vs. Josh Beckett (1-1, 7.46)

Two of Sabathia’s three worst starts this season have come against the Red Sox, during which he’s surrendered eight earned runs in 10 innings for a 7.20 ERA. But the big lefty’s poorest outing came in his last time out, when he yielded six runs in six frames at Detroit.

He’ll try to bounce back against a team which he’s compiled a 5-5 record and a 3.74 ERA in 13 career starts. Both of CC’s bad games versus the Sox this year have come on the road. Now, he gets a shot at them at home, where he’s 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 2010.

Last year’s ALCS MVP has held the following Boston hitters in check: Ortiz (7-for-29, .241, 5 K’s), Pedroia (1-for-19, .053, 6 K’s), Varitek (2-for-16, .125), Beltre (1-for-16, .063, 6 K’s), Drew (3-for-14, .214, 7 K’s) and Hall (1-for-8, .125, 4 K’s).

But Marco Scutaro (7-for-21, .333, 5 walks) and Kevin Youkilis (8-for-21, .381, 3 XBH) have had success.

Beckett, who has been dealing with some back issues which forced him to miss his last turn in the rotation, has been absolutely lit up by the Bombers in two starts this season (0-1, 12.60 ERA).

The good news for the right-hander is that he’s 17-11 with a 3.09 ERA when starting on at least six days’ rest (he’ll be working on 10 days’ rest), but the bad news is that he has a 5.96 ERA despite a 9-6 record in 19 starts against the Bombers.

Beckett struggled at the old Yankee Stadium (5.66 ERA in six starts), but he flourished at the new ballpark last season (1-0, 2.08 in two starts).

The 30-year-old Texan has been knocked around by Cano (17-for-49, .347, 10 RBIs), Posada (11-for-33, .333) and Marcus Thames (3-for-8, .375, HR), but he’s had success facing Teixeira (4-for-26, .154, 9 K’s) and Brett Gardner (3-for-14, .214, 4 K’s).

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

In the midst of their worst offensive slump of the season and having loss four of five, the Yankees return home to open up a seven-game, three-team homestand against the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins.

The Yanks and Twins enter their three-game set with identical 22-12 records, good for second best in the Majors behind the Rays and tied with the Padres.

Like New York, Minnesota has done it with a mix of good hitting and solid pitching. The Twins lead the AL with a .277 batting average and are second with a 3.51 ERA.

But the Bombers have dominated the Twins of late, winning all 10 meetings last year, including a three-game sweep in the AL Division Series, and Minnesota has dropped eight straight in the Bronx.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups.

Friday, May 14—A.J. Burnett (4-1, 3.40) vs. Scott Baker (4-2, 4.57)

Burnett allowed almost as many earned runs in his last start against the Red Sox (eight) as he did in his first six games combined (nine).

After his worst appearance of the season, the right-hander will look to bounce versus the Twins, a team against which he is 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA in six career starts.

Jim Thome (7-for-30, .233, 11 K’s), Michael Cuddyer (2-for-13, .154, 6 K’s), Brendan Harris (2-for-12, .167) and Nick Punto (1-for-11, .091) all struggle when facing Burnett.

Not surprisingly, Joe Mauer (5-for-13, .385) does not.

Baker is coming off back-to-back wins over the Tigers and Orioles, and while he is 2-1 with a 4.20 ERA in three lifetime starts against the Yankees (1-0, 1.80 in the Bronx), the current Bombers lineup hits .319 and slugs .623 off him.

Marcus Thames is batting just .231 against righties this year, but he has to be in the lineup on Friday because he’s 8-for-26 (.308) with four homers and six RBIs versus Baker.

Mark Teixeira is also 4-for-7 (.571) with a homer, but Alex Rodriguez is 0-for-7 with four strikeouts.

Saturday, May 15—Andy Pettitte (4-0, 2.08) vs. Francisco Liriano (4-1, 2.36)

Pettitte returns from his overly-cautious, one-start removal from the rotation and hopefully the long layoff won’t affect the great start he’s had.

The veteran southpaw is 9-5 with a 3.70 ERA in 19 career starts against Minnesota, but the current Twins roster hits .358 off him.

Brendan Harris is 8-for-17 (.471), Cuddyer is 5-for-14 (.357) with a homer, Delmon Young is a ridiculous 9-for-14 (.643), and Mauer and Justin Morneau are each 4-for-10 (.400). Thome, however, is 6-for-28 (.214) with 10 K’s.

Liriano suffered his first loss of the season on Saturday, surrendering five runs on 10 hits over six innings versus Baltimore.

The left-hander is 0-1 with a 2.77 ERA in three games (two starts) against New York, and he gave up one run in six frames in his only appearance at Yankee Stadium.

Facing Liriano, Teixeira is 1-for-9 (.111) with an incredible seven strikeouts, but that one hit was a home run.

Thames is an easy start in this one as he is 4-for-9 with three homers against the southpaw.

Sunday, May 16—Sergio Mitre (0-1, 3.86) vs. Nick Blackburn (3-1, 4.76)

As of Friday afternoon, the Yankees haven’t announced a starter for Sunday, but it will probably be Mitre thanks to a rainout-induced doubleheader on Wednesday that would force either Javier Vazquez or Phil Hughes to work on short rest if they were to start on Sunday.

I’d prefer Hughes on three-days’ rest over Mitre on steroids, but Joe Girardi probably isn’t going to want to push the young right-hander too hard in his first full season as a starter.

As expected, Mitre lasted just 4 1/3 innings and gave up four runs in a loss at Detroit on Monday.

He has never faced the Twins, but four men on their roster have batted against him. Orlando Hudson is 3-for-9 (.333) with a home run and Thome is 3-for-4 (.750) with a double, but Harris and Young are a combined 0-for-6.

After a rocky first four starts, Blackburn earned a complete-game win over the Tigers and followed that up with seven scoreless innings against the Orioles in another victory on Sunday.

The right-hander is 0-1 with a 5.89 ERA in four starts versus the Bombers, and he allowed four earned runs in 7 2/3 innings in his only start at the new Yankee Stadium last year.

A-Rod is 3-for-9 (.333) and a homer off Blackburn, Derek Jeter is 3-for-7 (.429) with a blast and Teixeira is a remarkable 6-for-6 with five RBIs and a walk. Robinson Cano, however, is 0-for-8.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

On a windy day in Detroit, the Yankees were shut out for the second time in the past three games as Justin Verlander dominated them in a 6-0 loss on Thursday.

The Tigers ace allowed just four hits and struck out four in 6.2 scoreless innings as he outdueled CC Sabathia, who was touched up for six runs on nine hits in six frames.

New York’s offense has gone silent over the past week. Outside of a six-run ninth on Wednesday, the Bombers have scored just nine runs in their last five games, losing four of them.

Is it injuries, an expected slump, or the wrong people being slotted in the lineup?

Let’s take a look at the grades from the series finale at Comerica Park.

Joe Girardi, Manager: (C-) The bottom third of the Yanks’ order on Thursday resembled a Spring Training lineup. Juan Miranda, who was making his season debut after 19 career at-bats the previous two years, hit seventh; Randy Winn, who entered the game batting .219, hit eighth; and Greg Golson, who picked up his first big league hit on Wednesday, hit ninth.

Part of the problem is injuries: Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson are both on the disabled list (although neither of them were exactly tearing the cover off the ball when they were healthy). And Nick Swisher sat out due to soreness in his bicep.

I don’t have a huge problem giving Swisher a day to rest because he’s 7-for-38 (.184) with 14 strikeouts in his career against Verlander anyway, but starting Miranda, Winn and Golson on the same day against the Tigers’ best pitcher gave the Yanks very little chance to score runs.

I thought Francisco Cervelli (.408 average, .276 vs. RHP), Marcus Thames (.341 average, although he does hit only .231 vs. RHP) or Ramiro Pena (2-for-3 vs. Verlander) would’ve all been better starts than Miranda and Golson.

Most importantly, the Yankees need to figure out a way to get Cervelli into the lineup more, especially with Granderson and Johnson out. They should call up a third catcher, so Cervelli and Posada can DH when they are not catching and there’s no risk to running out of catchers in case one of them gets hurt. This is a more valuable position to have on the roster than a fifth outfielder (Golson) or a sixth infielder (Miranda).

Derek Jeter, SS: (C-) The captain continued his recent slide by going 1-for-4 with a strikeout. He is now 8-for-51 (.157) in May, or as I like to call it, the anti-Teixeira.

Brett Gardner, CF: (D) I love Gardner in the No. 2 hole and hope he remains there even after Johnson returns, but the center fielder had a rough game on Thursday, going 1-for-5 to drop to 5 for his last 20 (.250).

Mark Teixeira, DH: (D+) A lifetime .366 hitter as a DH, Teixeira went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.

Alex Rodriguez, 3B: (D) A-Rod wasn’t very patient at the plate, seeing just eight pitches en route to an 0-for-4 performance, but he did make a nice spinning play on a Magglio Ordonez grounder in the first.

Robinson Cano, 2B: (D+) Cano was 0-for-3 with a walk to drop to 5-for-28 (.179) since May 5.

Jorge Posada, DH: (A-) Posada was the only Yankees batter to pick up two hits or an extra-base knock, but in typical Posada fashion, he had a passed ball and let another pitch bounce off his glove when no one was on base.

Sabathia has a 2.50 ERA in 36 innings pitching to Cervelli. He has a 6.23 ERA in 17 1/3 innings with Posada.

New York would be best served with Cervelli catching three out of every five games, and Posada catching the other two, with both of them in the lineup at least as the DH every day.

Juan Miranda, 1B: (D+) Miranda was 0-for-3 with a walk.

Randy Winn, LF-RF: (C) I’ll give credit to Winn for fouling off a lot of pitches against Verlander and working up his pitch count, so that he had to exit in the seventh. However, the Yankees couldn’t do anything against the Tigers’ bullpen either. Winn saw 28 pitches in four plate appearances.

Greg Golson, RF: (F) I imagine I’d look exactly the same as Golson did facing those first two breaking balls from Verlander in the second inning. Then again, I’m not a Major Leaguer.

Marcus Thames, PH-LF: (C+) Despite his poor batting average against right-handers, Thames did work a walk against Verlander in the seventh before striking out against Joel Zumaya in the ninth.

CC Sabathia, SP: (F) The big lefty turned in his worst start of the season and was really done in by back-to-back homers by Miguel Cabrera and Brennan Boesch in the fourth.

Ivan Nova, RP: (A) The one bright spot in this game was the Major League debut of Nova, who struck out one and allowed just two hits in a pair of scoreless innings. But much like Romulo Sanchez, who pitched a solid 3.2 innings the other day, Nova should be headed back to Triple-A shortly.

Yankees Overall Grade: (F) The Bombers managed just four hits, going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranding 11 baserunners. It was only their second lost series of the season, though, and those have both come on the road against teams that will be in the hunt for the playoffs. The Yankees face four different teams over the next eight days, all without leaving New York City.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Yankees had their six-game winning streak snapped in Boston on Sunday, but the Bombers still stand just a half-game back of Tampa Bay and the best record in baseball as they visit the Tigers and two familiar faces.

Johnny Damon landed in Detroit this past offseason after the Yanks opted not to re-sign him, and he’s off to a great start, batting .294 with a .409 on-base percentage and 14 RBIs.

Brian Cashman isn’t completely regretting his decision, however, because Brett Gardner (.344 average) has been a more-than-satisfactory replacement in left field.

Austin Jackson, on the other hand, is a different story. The rookie was traded on Dec. 9 in a three-team deal that brought Curtis Granderson to the Bronx, and while Granderson is currently on the disabled list following a slow start, Jackson is leading the league with a .371 batting average.

The Tigers as a team are second in the AL with a .278 average, but their pitching (4.36 ERA, ninth in league) has been mediocre.

However, this may be the first series the Yankees aren’t favored to win due to the fact they have Sergio Mitre starting Game 1 in place of Andy Pettitte and the struggling Javier Vazquez going in Game 2.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups for the four-game set.

Monday, May 10 – Sergio Mitre (0-0, 2.79) vs. Brad Thomas (1-0, 5.40)

Pettitte wasn’t too pleased when he heard he was going to miss a turn in the rotation thanks to some minor elbow issues, and most Yankees fans can’t be thrilled either that Mitre will be taking his place.

The right-hander has pitched pretty well in five relief appearances this season, but he’s 13-23 with a 5.47 ERA in 61 career starts, and will probably only be allowed to throw 65 to 75 pitches, which should put a heavy load on a bullpen that is just beginning a stretch of 17 consecutive games without a day off.

Mitre has never pitched against the Tigers and therefore, only two players on their current roster have ever faced him. Adam Everett is 2-for-5 with a double and two strikeouts, while Miguel Cabrera is 1-for-5 with an RBI and two K’s.

Willis was scratched from his scheduled start Monday with an unspecified illness, according to MLB.com. Lefty reliever Thomas will start in his place, so this game should wind up becoming a battle of the bullpens.

Tuesday, May 11 – Javier Vazquez (1-3, 9.78) vs. Rick Porcello (2-3, 7.50)

It was wise to push back Vazquez’s start so that he wouldn’t have to face the Red Sox, but it would be wiser to yank him from the starting rotation altogether and replace him with Joba Chamberlain.

The right-hander, who was promised to eat up innings for the Yankees this season, hasn’t pitched more than 5 2/3 frames in any of his five starts, failing to escape the fourth in his past two, so we could see New York relievers taxed quite a bit over the first two games of this series.

Vazquez is 6-7 with a 4.50 ERA in 13 career starts against the Tigers, including a stellar 2-5 record and 6.09 ERA at Comerica Park.

For some reason, Magglio Ordonez (7-for-36, .194) and Brandon Inge (7-for-31, .226, 13 K’s) have struggled when facing the 33-year-old, but Cabrera (9-for-23, .391, 3 HRs), Damon (7-for-21, .333, 2 HRs), and Everett (5-for-13, .385, 2 doubles) have not.

Another bullpen battle could be on tap because Porcello hasn’t lasted more than six innings all season. He faced the Yankees once during his rookie campaign last year, getting knocked around for six runs in 3 2/3 innings. Nick Swisher had a three-run homer.

Wednesday, May 12 – Phil Hughes (4-0, 1.69) vs. Jeremy Bonderman (1-1, 5.74)

Hughes may have taken a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the A’s and held the White Sox scoreless over seven, but his best start of the year came on Friday, when he gave up just two runs and struck out seven in seven frames against the Red Sox.

The questions about his durability will come when he eclipses his career-high 86 innings in one season, but as of now, the right-hander looks like the real deal.

Hughes is 2-2 with a 5.30 ERA in five games (three starts) versus the Tigers, and he’s 1-1 with a 3.75 in Detroit.

Against him, Ordonez is 1-for-8 (.125) and Laird, Inge, Everett and Ramon Santiago are a combined 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts, but Cabrera is 3-for-6.

Bonderman was pleased to see his stats washed away in a postponed game against the Indians on Friday. The right-hander had allowed six runs in 2 1/3 innings when the rains came.

Bonderman is 3-7 with a 5.55 ERA in 12 appearances (11 starts) versus the Yankees, but most of the players he had trouble with are gone as the current Bombers’ roster hits just .214 off him.

Derek Jeter is 8-for-33 (.242), Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano are both 5-for-22 (.227) and Mark Teixeira is an astounding 0-for-12 with three strikeouts.

Alex Rodriguez (8-for-26, .308, 2 HRs) is the only one with success against Bonderman.

Thursday, May 13 – CC Sabathia (4-1, 3.04) vs. Justin Verlander (3-2, 4.50)

Sabathia has a 7.20 ERA against the Red Sox, but a 1.93 mark versus everyone else this season. That’s not a good sign for the Tigers.

The big lefty was one strike away from earning the victory in Boston on Saturday before rain delayed the game for more than an hour and he was relieved.

The 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner with the Indians is 14-10 with a 4.50 ERA against his old Central rival, including a 7-3 record and 3.87 mark in 12 starts at Comerica Park.

Inge (7-for-47, .149, 14 K’s), Damon (4-for-18, .222), Ryan Raburn (3-for-15, .200, 5 K’s), and Everett (0-for-6) have all struggled when facing Sabathia.

However, Santiago is 7-for-21 with a double, Laird is 5-for-12 (.417) with a homer and Cabrera is 5-for-8 (.625) with six RBIs.

Ordonez has the most experience against Sabathia, going 16-for-61 (.262) with 17 RBIs and eight strikeouts.

This figures to be the best pitching matchup of the series because Verlander has won his last two starts and has surrendered only four earned runs over his past 20 innings.

The former Rookie of the Year is 3-2 with a 4.36 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees. He’s dominated Swisher (7-for-38, .184, 14 K’s), Teixeira (1-for-12, .083, 5 Ks), and Posada (1-for-10).

But Jeter (6-for-15, .400) and A-Rod (3-for-10, .300, HR) have had success, and maybe Ramiro Pena (2-for-3) could even find his way into the lineup.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com