The Yankees have owned the Orioles this season, beating them in 10 of the 12 times the two teams have faced each other, but Baltimore has been a different team since hiring former Yankees manager Buck Showalter. So this week’s three game series will not be as easy as the head-to-head record would make it seem.
Here are some notes:
- The Yankees will announce today what the next step for Andy Pettitte will be. Most likely he will pitch with Double-A Trenton on Wednesday, but he could do a simulated game instead.
- Nick Swisher had an MRI on his left knee which revealed no structural damage. There is inflammation though, but Swisher hopes he will be back in the lineup today.
- Nothing has been announced yet, but it appears that OF Colin Curtis is going to be called up today. He was pulled from a Triple-A game yesterday while his team was on the field.
- Here are the pitching match-ups vs. the Orioles:
- Monday: RHP A.J. Burnett (10-12, 5.15) vs. LHP Brian Matusz (7-12, 4.72).
- Tuesday: LHP CC Sabathia (19-5, 3.02) vs. RHP Jake Arrieta (4-6, 5.11).
- Wednesday: RHP Ivan Nova (1-0, 2.89) vs. RHP Brad Bergesen (6-10, 5.47).
The Yankees play the Orioles six more times over the remainder of the season. Hopefully they can still manhandle them, but it might not happen. The next six games will go a long way to showing if the Orioles are for real or not. If they are real they still aren’t going to compete for the division next season, but it will make the AL East that much harder.
Also, we’ve got Curtis likely coming up. That’s a good move because with Swisher being a question mark Greg Golson had to start yesterday. Golson is a good runner and fielder, but you really don’t want him starting down the stretch, Curtis is a better option.
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