The New York Yankees didn't need two key starters in one of their best offensive performances of the season. Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira could find that returning to the lineup against Ricky Romero may be a difficult task.
Jeter and Teixeira have poor numbers against Romero, who has had to deal with little run support from the Toronto Blue Jays entering Friday night's opener of a three-game set in the Bronx.
7:05 PM ET, April 29, 2011
Yankee Stadium, New York, NY
New York (14-8) salvaged a split of a four-game set against the Chicago White Sox with Thursday's 12-3 victory. The Yankees totaled six runs in losing two of the first three games before Nick Swisher broke out of an 0-for-13 slump with his first homer among three hits to go with four RBIs.
"I definitely had been worrying about that first home run," Swisher said. "I had been trying a lot that last week."
Starting Pitchers
Toronto: Romero (1-3, 3.00 ERA)
New York: Garcia (1-0, 0.69 ERA)
Teixeira sat out to rest a sore right shoulder suffered in Wednesday's win. Jeter got a regular night off.
"I haven't really had too many days off," Jeter told the Yankees' official website. "I don't think I had too many days off last year. In the long run, I guess it's beneficial, but I always like to play."
Jeter is 1 for 13 against Romero (1-3, 3.00 ERA) and Teixeira 3 for 15. Romero has also fared well against Jorge Posada (3 for 15), Alex Rodriguez (4 for 16) and Robinson Cano (2 for 16), although he's 2-2 with a 5.70 ERA in six starts against New York.
The left-hander has lost his last three outings, and has received a total of three runs of support in his last four. He yielded two runs over seven innings Sunday in a 2-0 loss to Tampa Bay in which he struck out a season-high 10 and retired 14 of his final 15 batters.
"When you're going good, you can throw any pitch for a strike and you know they're going to swing and miss, or make an out," Romero told the Blue Jays' official website. "That's how I felt."
He could use the kind of support that Toronto (12-13) provided to start this 10-game trip. The Blue Jays homered seven times and scored 27 runs in taking three of four from Texas, winning 5-2 on Thursday.
Jose Bautista continues to lead the AL in homers (eight), runs (23), walks (26) and batting average (.360). Bautista survived a near disaster in the seventh when it appeared he was hit in the head by a pitch. It turned out to be his hand where he was struck, and not on the wrist or the back of the hand where there are a lot of bones.
"We dodged what could have been an unfortunate incident," manager John Farrell said. "... It was a scary moment, but at the same time we're fortunate that nothing is broken."
Farrell said that shortstop Yunel Escobar will be back in the lineup after a day off. Center fielder Rajai Davis will be activated from the 15-day disabled list (sore right ankle) before Friday's game.
The Blue Jays will face veteran right-hander Freddy Garcia (1-0, 0.69), who has thrown 12 scoreless innings in his two starts. He pitched six innings last Thursday in a 6-3, 11-inning victory at Baltimore.
Garcia is 6-5 with a 6.10 ERA in 14 starts against Toronto, with one coming since 2006.
Jeter and Teixeira have poor numbers against Romero, who has had to deal with little run support from the Toronto Blue Jays entering Friday night's opener of a three-game set in the Bronx.
7:05 PM ET, April 29, 2011
Yankee Stadium, New York, NY
New York (14-8) salvaged a split of a four-game set against the Chicago White Sox with Thursday's 12-3 victory. The Yankees totaled six runs in losing two of the first three games before Nick Swisher broke out of an 0-for-13 slump with his first homer among three hits to go with four RBIs.
"I definitely had been worrying about that first home run," Swisher said. "I had been trying a lot that last week."
Starting Pitchers
Toronto: Romero (1-3, 3.00 ERA)
New York: Garcia (1-0, 0.69 ERA)
"I haven't really had too many days off," Jeter told the Yankees' official website. "I don't think I had too many days off last year. In the long run, I guess it's beneficial, but I always like to play."
Jeter is 1 for 13 against Romero (1-3, 3.00 ERA) and Teixeira 3 for 15. Romero has also fared well against Jorge Posada (3 for 15), Alex Rodriguez (4 for 16) and Robinson Cano (2 for 16), although he's 2-2 with a 5.70 ERA in six starts against New York.
The left-hander has lost his last three outings, and has received a total of three runs of support in his last four. He yielded two runs over seven innings Sunday in a 2-0 loss to Tampa Bay in which he struck out a season-high 10 and retired 14 of his final 15 batters.
"When you're going good, you can throw any pitch for a strike and you know they're going to swing and miss, or make an out," Romero told the Blue Jays' official website. "That's how I felt."
He could use the kind of support that Toronto (12-13) provided to start this 10-game trip. The Blue Jays homered seven times and scored 27 runs in taking three of four from Texas, winning 5-2 on Thursday.
Jose Bautista continues to lead the AL in homers (eight), runs (23), walks (26) and batting average (.360). Bautista survived a near disaster in the seventh when it appeared he was hit in the head by a pitch. It turned out to be his hand where he was struck, and not on the wrist or the back of the hand where there are a lot of bones.
"We dodged what could have been an unfortunate incident," manager John Farrell said. "... It was a scary moment, but at the same time we're fortunate that nothing is broken."
Farrell said that shortstop Yunel Escobar will be back in the lineup after a day off. Center fielder Rajai Davis will be activated from the 15-day disabled list (sore right ankle) before Friday's game.
The Blue Jays will face veteran right-hander Freddy Garcia (1-0, 0.69), who has thrown 12 scoreless innings in his two starts. He pitched six innings last Thursday in a 6-3, 11-inning victory at Baltimore.
Garcia is 6-5 with a 6.10 ERA in 14 starts against Toronto, with one coming since 2006.
