Yankees vs. Indians Preview
CLEVELAND (AP) – CC Sabathia found it emotional in his last start to face his previous team. Pitching against the club he came up with will probably be less so since he’s been back to Cleveland before.
He’ll try for a season-high fifth straight victory and major league-leading 12th when the New York Yankees and Indians continue a three-game set Tuesday night.
According to MLB odds and oddsmakers from online sports book Bodog have made the Yankees -148 money line favorites for Tuesday’s game against the Indians. Current MLB Public Betting Information shows that 78% of more than 351 bets for this game have been placed on the Yankees -148.
Sabathia (11-4, 3.05 ERA) became the majors’ first 11-game winner Thursday by matching a career high with 13 strikeouts over 7 2-3 innings in a 5-0 victory over Milwaukee. He won less than an hour before Justin Verlander notched his 11th victory for Detroit.
Verlander is also pitching Tuesday on the West Coast against the Angels.
Sabathia went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA in 2008 with Milwaukee after being traded by Cleveland and admitted it was difficult to face the Brewers for the first time since he joined the Yankees.
“That was my team,” Sabathia said. “I try to be laid back and not let that affect me, but it did.”
The left-hander, 8-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his last nine outings, has gone 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in four starts against the Indians. That includes a 1-1 mark with a 3.21 ERA in two outings at Progressive Field, his home park from his rookie season in 2001 up till the trade to Milwaukee.
Sabathia will have a tough opponent on the mound in Carlos Carrasco (8-4, 3.54), who gave up five hits over seven innings to earn a 1-0 victory in his first career start against the Yankees on June 13. Carrasco is 4-1 with a 0.98 ERA in his last five outings, striking out 28 and walking five over 36 2-3 innings.
The right-hander yielded two runs over seven innings in a 6-2 win at Arizona on Wednesday.
New York (50-33) welcomed captain Derek Jeter back to the lineup in its second straight loss, 6-3 on Monday. Jeter was out since June 13 with a calf injury and went 0 for 4 to remain six hits shy of 3,000.
“I felt fine, no problems, no issues,” said Jeter, who entered with a .370 average in Cleveland. “I was nervous at the beginning, almost like it was opening day again. It was just nerves. Three weeks is definitely a long time to be out. I felt better as the game went on.”
Josh Tomlin carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and notched his 10th victory as the Indians (45-38) won for the fifth time in seven games. Austin Kearns hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh off A.J. Burnett for his first since Aug. 22, with the Yankees.
Kearns came up to bat with a .192 average and two RBIs in a part-time role.
“It’s a funny game,” Kearns said.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he used Burnett deeper in the game because Mariano Rivera was not available due to a sore right triceps muscle.
Rivera told Girardi that he was sore after blowing a save against the Mets on Sunday. The 41-year-old closer said he’s not “concerned at all” and hopes to be able to pitch Tuesday.
Curtis Granderson homered for New York and is hitting .413 with 10 RBIs in his last 13 games against Cleveland.
The Indians are seeking to win three straight over the Yankees for the first time since 2006.
Want More From TheSpread.com? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook or Subscribe to Our News Feeds!