New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays Live Baseball Streaming Online Radio Commentary Espn 360 Gamecast Freedocast 7/21: CC Sabathia hasn't pitched well on his birthday in the past, but nothing seems to be stopping the New York Yankees' ace of late.
WATCH LIVE BASEBALL NOW
He'll try for his major league-leading 15th victory and eighth in a row Thursday night when the Yankees complete a four-game road series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sabathia (14-4, 2.64 ERA) has posted a 1.68 ERA over his last seven starts, with 50 strikeouts and two runs allowed in 39 2/3 innings in his last five. He's seeking to win eight consecutive outings for the first time since June 3-July 11, 2010.
The big left-hander will turn 31 on Thursday, and this marks the third time he's pitched on his birthday. He went 0-1 with a 9.35 ERA in the first two with Cleveland in 2002 and 2006.
Sabathia's scoreless innings streak ended at 23 2/3 in the first inning Saturday at Toronto, but he allowed just three hits in eight innings of a 4-1 victory.
"I thought all his stuff was good," manager Joe Girardi said. "His velocity was great, his changeup was very good. He just knows how to pitch."
Sabathia is 2-4 with a 3.76 ERA in 10 starts against the Rays (51-45) since joining the Yankees (57-38) in 2009. He pitched a four-hitter in his lone 2011 start against them July 10, striking out nine in a 1-0 victory.
James Shields (8-8, 2.60) was the loser as he gave up an unearned run and pitched a four-hitter of his own. Shields fell to 3-10 with a 4.47 ERA against the Yankees, and he's 1-5 with a 3.83 ERA in eight home outings in the series entering this rematch.
"I'm looking forward to it," Shields told MLB.com. "I'm sure CC is ready to rock over there, and we're going to go at it."
Robinson Cano is a .383 hitter in 47 at-bats against Shields while Derek Jeter (.310) and Jorge Posada (.303) have also fared well. The opposite is true for Curtis Granderson (3 for 37), Mark Teixeira (6 for 37) and Nick Swisher (5 for 23).
Shields gave up six runs over six innings Saturday in a 9-5 loss to Boston, falling to 0-4 with a 4.00 ERA in his last four starts.
The Rays probably won't be excited to see Sabathia after being shut out for the third time in seven games, 4-0 on Wednesday. They have scored seven runs over their last 42 innings.
"These shutouts are really tough to watch sometimes," manager Joe Maddon said.
"Again, it's similar to the beginning of the season when we had that very difficult (0-6) start. We're just not swinging the bats well in this ball park. It's so difficult to understand. We had opportunities with the right hitters at the plate. That also makes it more difficult."
The Yankees won for the fourth time in five games to remain 1 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL East. Tampa Bay has lost six of eight to fall a season-high eight games out of first.
Granderson is 3 for 9 in this series after he had a two-run homer Wednesday. He was also hit by a pitch for the second straight night.
WATCH LIVE BASEBALL NOW
He'll try for his major league-leading 15th victory and eighth in a row Thursday night when the Yankees complete a four-game road series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
7:10 PM ET, July 21, 2011
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
The big left-hander will turn 31 on Thursday, and this marks the third time he's pitched on his birthday. He went 0-1 with a 9.35 ERA in the first two with Cleveland in 2002 and 2006.
Sabathia's scoreless innings streak ended at 23 2/3 in the first inning Saturday at Toronto, but he allowed just three hits in eight innings of a 4-1 victory.
"I thought all his stuff was good," manager Joe Girardi said. "His velocity was great, his changeup was very good. He just knows how to pitch."
Sabathia is 2-4 with a 3.76 ERA in 10 starts against the Rays (51-45) since joining the Yankees (57-38) in 2009. He pitched a four-hitter in his lone 2011 start against them July 10, striking out nine in a 1-0 victory.
James Shields (8-8, 2.60) was the loser as he gave up an unearned run and pitched a four-hitter of his own. Shields fell to 3-10 with a 4.47 ERA against the Yankees, and he's 1-5 with a 3.83 ERA in eight home outings in the series entering this rematch.
"I'm looking forward to it," Shields told MLB.com. "I'm sure CC is ready to rock over there, and we're going to go at it."
Robinson Cano is a .383 hitter in 47 at-bats against Shields while Derek Jeter (.310) and Jorge Posada (.303) have also fared well. The opposite is true for Curtis Granderson (3 for 37), Mark Teixeira (6 for 37) and Nick Swisher (5 for 23).
Shields gave up six runs over six innings Saturday in a 9-5 loss to Boston, falling to 0-4 with a 4.00 ERA in his last four starts.
The Rays probably won't be excited to see Sabathia after being shut out for the third time in seven games, 4-0 on Wednesday. They have scored seven runs over their last 42 innings.
"These shutouts are really tough to watch sometimes," manager Joe Maddon said.
"Again, it's similar to the beginning of the season when we had that very difficult (0-6) start. We're just not swinging the bats well in this ball park. It's so difficult to understand. We had opportunities with the right hitters at the plate. That also makes it more difficult."
The Yankees won for the fourth time in five games to remain 1 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL East. Tampa Bay has lost six of eight to fall a season-high eight games out of first.
Granderson is 3 for 9 in this series after he had a two-run homer Wednesday. He was also hit by a pitch for the second straight night.
