No Posada No Problem
The New York Yankees received bad news on Monday, learning that their
second-half playoff push may have to take place without their longtime
catcher in the lineup.
The good news? That push may have already begun.
With
Jorge Posada back on the disabled list, the Yankees will look to win
their fifth straight game overall – and ninth in a row at home – when
they continue their series with the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global
have made New York -115 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has
been set at 9.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 84% of bets for this game have been placed on New York -115 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Posada
has battled shoulder problems all season, catching in only 30 games and
spending all of May on the disabled list. He went back on the DL
Monday, and could miss the rest of the year if he decides to have
surgery.
New York (54-45) also might be without Hideki Matsui
(swollen knee) for the rest of 2008, but its offense didn’t have any
problems in a 12-4 win over Minnesota (55-44) on Monday. Posada’s
replacement, Jose Molina, had three hits, while Alex Rodriguez,
Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter each homered.
"We’ve been looking
to score runs early and really try to deliver the knockout punch,
something we haven’t really been very successful with this year,"
Rodriguez said. "But hopefully this was a sign of things to come."
The
Yankees are 4-0 since the All-Star break, one year after winning six of
their first seven after the break en route to a 51-25 second half and
the AL wild card.
They have also won eight straight games at
Yankee Stadium, their longest winning streak at their
soon-to-be-extinct ballpark since a nine-game run in May 2005.
"This
is the team that we are," said Cano, who is 10-for-19 with two home
runs since the break. "Everybody contributes, and our pitching is
great."
Injuries have also been a factor for the Yankees’
rotation, as Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy all remain
out. After Sidney Ponson beat the Twins Monday, Darrell Rasner will
look to do the same.
Darrell Rasner (5-7, 4.97 ERA) has pitched exactly
five innings in each of his last five starts, going 2-3 with a 7.20 ERA
over that span. He lasted 5 1-3 innings at Minnesota on June 1,
allowing four runs and eight hits in a 5-1 loss.
He’ll be facing
a Twins offense that has tallied four runs in two games since scoring a
season-high 14 in a win over Texas on Saturday. Justin Morneau is
0-for-8 in the last two after a nine-game hitting streak, while leadoff
hitter Carlos Gomez is 5-for-57 (.088) in his last 13 contests.
Minnesota
is looking to avoid its second three-game losing streak this month
after winning 18 of 21 from June 13-July 6. The Twins are one-half game
behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
Kevin
Slowey (6-6, 4.26) will be making his first start in 12 days after he
was pushed back due to an infected fingernail. Slowey will also be
hoping to rebound from a pair of tough outings before the All-Star
break, as he gave up 11 runs in 9 2-3 innings in his last two starts.
Minnesota has still won Slowey’s last six starts, as the right-hander is 4-0 with a 3.26 ERA over that span.
Slowey
has faced the Yankees once, allowing five runs and eight hits in 3 2-3
innings in the Bronx on July 5, 2007. He did not receive a decision in
Minnesota’s 7-6 loss.
The Twins likely aren’t nostalgic about
playing their final regular-season series at Yankee Stadium. They are
3-17 there since 2002.
"You make mistakes with these guys here,
you pay for them, and we paid for a lot of our mistakes out there,"
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
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