Yankees try to avoid sweep against Blue Jays

The New York Yankees suddenly look vulnerable. They have lost 4 out of 5 games to division rivals and are now in second place in the A.L. East. New York has been on cruis control for most of the season as they have held the division lead for the majority of it. Tampa Bay looked to be fading just a month ago as they had fallen into 3rd place. Most MLB predictions had the Rays in 3rd place behind the Boston Red Sox and Yankees, but once again they have proven the expert wrong. A solid line-up and great pitching has vaulted Tampa Bay to the best record in baseball.

Tampa took 2 out of 3 last week against the Bombers, and are looking to increase their lead as the Yankees bats have gone quiet over the last week. New York’s batting order is deadly from top to bottom, but they have had trouble hitting with runners in scoring position. The Yankees starting pitching staff has been dominant all year long, but they haven’t been themselves over the last few weeks. Phil Hughes and C.C. Sabathia both lost in their last outing, and will need to step up big the rest of the way if New York is to stay within arms reach of the Rays.

Robinson Cano at one point this year was contending for a batting title, but now he is just trying to put the bat on the ball as he’s dropped over 20 points since the All-Star break. Derek Jeter is having one of the worst years of his career as he is batting just .273 with a .335 on base percentage. These numbers are far below his season averages, and will need to improve dramatically over the last 50+ games. The hottest htter for the Yanks is Mark Teixeira. Teixeira has fought back from a horrible first half, and now leads the team in home runs and runs scored. He is currently batting just .255, but is well on the way to getting back to his lifetime average of .287.

Phil Hughes takes the mound Wednesday night as theYankees try to avoid a 3 game sweep at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto doesn’t have much pitching to speak of, but their offense has the ability to be dominant at times. They lead the majors with 163 homeruns. What they lack in batting average (.250) they make up with power. New York has allowed 16 runs over the first 2 games of this series, and they are hoping Hughes can shake off his last performance to right the Yankees ship. Hughes started the season well above expectations, but has now lost 2 of his last 3 starts. If the Yankees want to continue to dominate the A.L. East they will need to rely on their starters.

Wednesday nights match-up should be more of a pitchers duel then the previous 2 games. Hughes has tremendous stuff, and Marcum is coming off of 3 consecutive great starts. Marcum has allowed just 4 runs over his last 17 2/3 innings. He will make it difficult for the Yankees hitters to get in a groove as he has tremendous control with strikeout capability. Tune in Wednesday night as New York and Toronto is a huge A.L. East match-up.

Related posts:

1. Yankees need to improve consistency at the Plate
2. A.L. East Division Title Battle: Yankees vs. Rays
3. Battle of Aces: Yankees vs. Red Sox Saturday
4. Yankees need Burnett to Step It Up
5. Must win for Yankees in Game 4 of ALCS

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