Game #136: The anti-climactic Yankees series
By Scott Caruso | September 2nd, 2008 | Posted in Game Thread
The Yankees are dead and buried. It’s just a plain fact. This series is important for one reason and one reason only - reducing the Rays’ magic number. Even if the Yankees sweep the series, they STILL don’t have a chance of catching the Rays. It’s just a fact.
What to watch for: The crowd. Let’s see it, Rays fans. Don’t let the Yankee fans take over the park.
Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Matt Garza -The 24-year-old Fresno State product has arguably the best stuff on the Rays staff, boasting a mid-90s fastball that sinks, a curveball, a slider and a changeup. He is coming off Wednesday night’s win over Toronto in which the right-hander scattered six hits over seven 2/3 shutout innings. Garza tossed 69 of 115 pitches for strikes, and two of his three walks came to his final batters. Garza is 1-1 in two starts vs. the Yankees, with a 3.29 ERA.
Mike Mussina - Mussina kept up his consistency with seven solid innings against the Red Sox on Thursday, but came away with his second straight no-decision. He held Boston to two runs to keep the Yankees in the game, scattering five hits with two walks. With six strikeouts, Mussina moved past Frank Tanana for sole possession of 20th place on the all-time list with 2,778 career strikeouts. He has thrown at least six innings in nine of his last 10 starts. Mussina is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in two outings against Tampa Bay this season.
Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Mike Mussina.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
NEW YORK YANKEES |
| LINEUP 1 | LINEUP 1 |
| LINEUP 2 | LINEUP 2 |
| LINEUP 3 | LINEUP 3 |
| LINEUP 4 | LINEUP 4 |
| LINEUP 5 | LINEUP 5 |
| LINEUP 6 | LINEUP 6 |
| LINEUP 7 | LINEUP 7 |
| LINEUP 8 | LINEUP 8 |
| LINEUP 9 | LINEUP 9 |
Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!
Tags: Yankees
