After last night’s rout, the Rays look to make it two in a row against the New York Yankees in today’s afternoon title. Andy Pettitte goes for the Yankees after being pushed back due to some back troubles, while Edwin Jackson looks to get his 2008 season off on the right foot against an awfully tough Yankee lineup.
Shawn Riggans will get the start at catcher with Dioner Navarro now on the disabled list. We’ve also heard throughout the week that both Jonny Gomes and Elliot Johnson will get starts today, so the lineup could have a bit of a different look today.
What to watch for: It will be much more difficult for the Rays to make Andy Pettitte work than it was to do so against Ian Kennedy, but they have to try. Pettitte will likely be on a pitch-count thanks to his injuries, so if the Rays can make him throw a lot of pitches early, they could get back into that exposed Yankee bullpen.
On the other side, it will be IMPERATIVE for Edwin Jackson to throw strikes today. The Yankees do not go out of the strike zone until they are down in the count, so Edwin needs to keep pumping strike one all day long. Now, he can’t just lay it over the middle of the plate since there are 9 players who can hit the ball out of the yard, but he needs to work from ahead in the count and force the Yankees into defensive counts. If he doesn’t do that, it could be a long day and J.P. Howell might be called on to try and clean up the mess.
Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford have very good career numbers against Pettitte. The Rays could be able to jump in front early if the two of them can get something started in the first inning. On the other side, Gomes is just 2-for-12 lifetime and B.J. Upton is 1-for-6.
Scouting Report on todays starters from MLB.com:
Edwin Jackson - Jackson got off to a terrible start in 2007, when he went 1-9 with a 7.23 ERA in 17 games (16 starts) in the first half of the season. His results were much improved in the second half, when he went 4-6 with a 4.48 ERA in 15 starts, including a four-hit shutout of the Rangers on Aug. 11. Yet he continues to be an enigma, the pitcher with the big fastball who gets mixed results. Jackson has pitched well at Yankee Stadium, posting a 1-1 mark with a 4.38 ERA in four appearances (two starts).
Andy Pettitte - OHaving been pushed back from the No. 2 spot by back spasms, Pettitte is expected to open his campaign against the Rays. The lefty is looking to reprise the role of stopper that helped the Yankees record 21 wins in his 34 starts.
Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Pettitte.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
NEW YORK YANKEES |
| 2B - Akinori Iwamura | CF -Johnny Damon |
| LF - Carl Crawford | SS - Derek Jeter |
| 1B - Carlos Pena | RF - Bobby Abreu |
| CF - B.J. Upton | 3B - Alex Rodriguez |
| RF - Jonny Gomes | DH - Jason Giambi |
| 3B - Willy Aybar | 2B - Robinson Cano |
| SS - Jason Bartlett | C - Jorge Posada |
| C - Shawn Riggans | LF - Hideki Matsui |
| DH - Elliot Johnson | 1B - Shelley Duncan |
Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!
Tags: Yankees
April 5th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Jack gets a B+ today along with Wheeler and Percival getting A’s. Miller was unlucky and is not being used correctly. He is a left hand specialist and should be used that way exclusively. I would like to see Wheeler used in the 8th as set up man instead of 7th with Dohlman in the 7th. Reyes can come in to help any of them if they get into trouble. OK I’m not afraid to say it. “We are still in 1st place”
April 6th, 2008 at 5:52 am
Like I said earlier, Miller is a left hand specialist and should be used that way exclusively. I would like to see Wheeler used in the 8th as set up man instead of 7th with Dohlman or Gary Glover in the 7th. Reyes can come in to help any of them if they get into trouble.