Sabathia, Bats, Give Yankees Bullpen Much Needed Night Off

After a series of close games which ended in a 15 inning battle the night before, the Yankees bullpen really needed a break yesterday. CC Sabathia and the Yankees lineup gave them just that in the teams’ 13-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Sabathia, who historically dominates the Orioles, pitched eight shutout innings, giving up seven hits while striking out nine. Amauri Sanit gave up two hits on three runs in the ninth to finish the game for the Yankees who now have a fully rested bullpen with the Subway Series scheduled to begin tonight against the New York Mets.

The entire lineup woke up in a big way with every starter recorded at least one hit with the exception of Alex Rodriguez who was 0-for-3 but did reach base with a walk.

The scoring started quickly as the Yankees scored five runs in the top of the first against Orioles starter Brad Bergesen. Derek Jeter led off the game with a double and scored when Curtis Granderson tripled off the top if the right field wall. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Nick Swisher broke out of his slump with a three run double to give the Yankees a five run lead. Sabathia did the rest and gave the Yankees their third straight win after a six game losing streak.

New York belted eight extra base hits on the night. Jeter, Swisher, and Jorge Posada recorded doubles while Granderson, Brett Gardner, and Jeter hit triples. Mark Teixeira and Eduardo Nunez smacked home runs in the win.

The Yankees enter tonight’s game against the Mets with a 23-19 overall record. Freddy Garcia takes the mound opposite Mets starter R.A. Dickey.

The Mets are coming off a two game sweep of the Washington Nationals and have won six of their past eight games. Despite a long list of injuries, the Mets have hung in their with solid pitching of late. The lineup still has it’s superstars that are contributing, especially Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. They may not have Angel Pagan, Ike Davis, and David Wright healthy and available, but if Jason Bay gets going, the Mets still have a lineup that can score runs.

Pitching Matchups

Friday 7:05pm:  Freddy Garcia (2-3, 3.22 ERA) vs. R.A. Dickey (1-5, 5.08 ERA)

Saturday 7:10pm: A.J. Burnett (4-3, 3.99 ERA) vs Chris Capuano (3-4, 4.78 ERA)

Sunday 1:05pm: Ivan Nova (4-3, 4.33 ERA) vs Mike Pelfrey (3-3, 5.11 ERA)