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Tough Ten Game Homestand Starts With Boston

The New York Yankees return home tonight to face the Boston Red Sox. New York enters the three game series with a one game lead over Boston in the American League East. Both teams are playing good baseball. Boston has won six of their last 10 while the Yankees are winners of seven of their last 10.

The saving grace for the Yankees may be home field advantage. Boston is just 14-13 on the road while the Bombers are 17-13 at Yankee Stadium this season.

The Yankees pitching staff will have its hands full with the Boston lineup. After a team wide slump in the early part of the season, the Red Sox are one of baseballs hottest teams. Adrian Gonzalez is a monster at the plate, hitting .339 with 18 doubles and 12 home runs. Carl Crawford has been hitting well lately as well. Of course, that’s just two of Boston’s big bats. David Ortiz is having a big year, batting .325 with a team high 13 home runs. Jacoby Ellsbury has been productive when healthy this year. The speedy outfielder is batting .299 with 18 doubles, six home runs, and has stolen 22 bases in 29 attempts.

The Yankees will rely on ace CC Sabathia during this tough stretch of games.

You can’t forget Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis either. Despite their numbers not being what we have come to expect, both are traditional Yankee killers. To sum it up, the Boston lineup is loaded with big bats and the Yankees pitchers will need to be on top of their game.

Freddy Garcia will start the opening game tonight against Jon Lester, a tough lefty.

Of course, Boston is just one of the three teams the Yankees will face during this home stand. Following Boston will be the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, both division leaders. Cleveland may be the surprise of baseball so far this season as they lead the AL Central with a record of 33-25. For a while, the Indians held the best record in the league but have come back down to earth a little bit lately, winning just three of their past ten games. They hold just a one game lead over Detroit in the division.

Texas leads the AL West by two and a half games over the Seattle Mariners. The Rangers offense has taken off since the return of All-Star outfielders Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz. Texas, despite losing ace pitcher Cliff Lee in the offseason is a very dangerous team, especially offensively.

The Yankees currently have the third best record in baseball and the best in the American League. This, however, is a team with flaws. The lineup has been inconsistent this season, although some players are starting to get hot again. The starting rotation has been solid for the most part, but you still have to wonder if guys like Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia will last.

A tough stretch of ten games may say a lot about this Yankees team. In fact, it won’t end after just ten games. With no off days in between, the Yankees will then hit the road for interleague play, facing the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds on the road.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi will pay close attention to the team during this stretch. With the All-Star game a little more than a month away, teams will begin to decide what they need. This stretch of games may help Cashman make some decisions.

Everyone will be tested. The starting pitchers, the lineup, the bullpen, the coaches, and most likely at some point even the bench. Who steps up to the challenge? This is what baseball is all about!

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