Yankees in Trouble
The New York Yankees are still looking for answers.
They’ll start their longest road trip of the season Monday night when they play the first of three games against the Toronto Blue Jays.
New York fell six games below .500 for the first time this season after being swept over the weekend by the Los Angeles Angels, including a 4-3 loss on Sunday.
Oddsmakers have made New York -145 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for todays game, the over/under has been set at 10.5ov total runs (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 65% of bets for this game have been placed on New York -145 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
The Yankees (21-27) have dropped 11 of 16 and trail first-place Boston by 12 1/2 games in the AL East.
"We’re not giving up," said shortstop Derek Jeter, who made the final out with the tying run on third in a 10-pitch at-bat. "We had an opportunity there. We couldn’t do it."
This 10-game road trip will be a challenging one for New York, which plays three contests at Boston next weekend before going to Chicago to face the White Sox for four games. The Yankees are 4-9 against the teams they face on the trip.
New York is in the unfamiliar position of fourth place in the division, just one game ahead of last-place Tampa Bay. Baltimore is in second and Toronto (22-27) sits in third.
Yankees designated hitter Jason Giambi is in the midst of a prolonged slump, going 4-for-44 with one RBI over his last 15 games. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez is just 7-for-33 (.212) over his last nine games with all five of his RBIs in that span coming on four homers.
The Yankees are still awaiting the return of Roger Clemens, who will make a start at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday. New York rookie Matt DeSalvo (1-1, 5.29 ERA), meanwhile, will make his fourth career start to begin the series when he faces Toronto for the first time.
Because of off days, DeSalvo hasn’t started since he gave up four runs over 3 1-3 innings in a 4-1 loss against the White Sox on May 17. The right-hander made an appearance in relief in Friday’s 10-6 loss to the Angels, but failed to retire any of the four batters he faced.
Toronto completed a 4-5 road trip with a 4-2 loss at Minnesota on Sunday. The Blue Jays alternated losses and wins for all nine games.
Jays slugger Troy Glaus had the day off Sunday due to an 0-for-16 slump, and will be hoping to get back on track at home, where he is hitting .308 in 18 games.
Toronto has won five of its last six home games as it welcomes New York to the Rogers Centre for the first time this season. The Blue Jays won five of nine games at home against the Yankees in 2006.
These teams have met only once this season due to a postponed game at Yankee Stadium on April 25. Vernon Wells went 3-for-3 to lead Toronto to a 6-0 victory the next day.
Wells is hitting .382 (21-for-55) over his last 15 games against the Yankees.
Dustin McGowan (0-2, 7.17) will start for the fifth time this season for Toronto. He allowed three runs and eight hits over six innings in a 5-2 loss at Baltimore on Wednesday.
The right-hander is starting against New York for the second time after allowing one run, four hits and four walks over 2 2-3 innings in Toronto’s 7-5 victory on Oct. 1. McGowan has also posted an 8.44 ERA in four career relief appearances against the Yankees.
by: Dave Michaels – thespread.com – Email Us
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