The sputtering Yankees will get a much-needed boost for tonight's game against Baltimore when Alex Rodriguez returns to the lineup; New York opened as a -145 money line betting favorite (over/under: 9) on WagerWeb.com.
The three-time American League MVP has been in Tampa working in extended spring games testing his strained right quadriceps.
Coming off Sunday's full workout, in which Rodriguez said it was the "best" he's felt since the injury, the third baseman breezed through about five innings on Monday, and overall said he was happy with the work done in Florida.
"I'm excited to get back into Yankee Stadium and play baseball," said Rodriguez. "It's where I belong."
The Yankees are currently last in the AL East and have dropped five of their past six games.
The team went 6-11 with him on the DL. He watched them muster three hits Sunday in the 11-2 loss to the New York Mets. The Yankees, still without catcher Jorge Posada, have scored just 12 runs in their last six games.
Without two of their main offensive cogs, the Yankees are tied with Baltimore for 11th in the AL in runs (179). Only Toronto (177) and Kansas City (165) are worse.
"You can't hang your hat on one player," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's going to take 25, and for us, it's taken about 32 or 33 so far. It's going to continue to take that. Obviously, we're getting a great player back, hopefully on Tuesday. But he can't do it alone. Everyone has to contribute."
Rodriguez acknowledged that he had been watching the games, and while he has "no predictions" for what will happen when the club inserts his bat into the lineup, he did note that it has been "tough to [just] watch."Prior to the injury, which occurred running out a grounder vs. the Orioles on April 28, Rodriguez was hitting .286 with a .495 slugging percentage and 11 RBIs in 24 games.
Tonight's opponent, the Orioles, won the first series of the year against the Yankees at Camden Yards and arrived in New York on a minor roll, winning seven of their past nine games and sweeping a two-game set from the first-place Boston Red Sox last week.
In the first game of the series, Daniel Cabrera (4-1, 3.58) will oppose Yankees veteran right-hander Mike Mussina (6-3, 3.99).
Mussina, who is 10-6 with a 4.51 ERA in 23 starts against his former team, has won five straight starts.
Last time out, against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Mussina logged New York's only victory of the four-game series with a one-run, five-hit performance over 6 1/3 innings. He has not faced the Orioles, his former team, this season.
"Hopefully we can get another strong outing by Moose," Johnny Damon said. "He's been kind of pulling us together of late. Hopefully he goes out and pitches well, and most of all, hopefully our bats go out there and give him some help."
Cabrera beat the Yankees in mid-April and is 4-6 with a 4.81 ERA against them in 14 career outings. He has thrown seven straight quality starts overall, which is the longest streak of his career.
Orioles-Yanks betting trends: Orioles are 6-1 in their last 7 during Game 1 of a series. ... Orioles are 5-1 in their last 6 games vs. a right-handed starter. ... Yankees are 2-10 in their last 12 games as a favorite... Yankees are 5-0 in Mussina's last 5 starts. ... Under is 6-0-1 in Cabrera's last 7 starts overall. ... Under is 11-2 in Yankees' last 13 after scoring 2 runs or less in their previous game. ... Over is 6-1-1 in Mussina's last 8 starts vs. Orioles. ... Over is 5-1 in Cabrera's last 6 starts vs. Yankees.
No comments:
Post a Comment