New York @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( May 31, 2010 ) Cleveland 2, NY Yankees 11
Alex Rodriguez couldn’t get his 600th career home run at home over the weekend. But at least he managed to escape a serious injury.
Rodriguez will continue the climb toward baseball immortality when the New York Yankees open up a four-game series against the Cleveland Indians on Monday.
After belting No. 599 on Thursday, Yankee Stadium was packed all weekend with fans waiting to see Rodriguez become the youngest player in baseball history to reach No. 600. Although he went 5-for-12 in the last three games, Rodriguez failed to deliver.
After a rain delay of over two and a half hours on Sunday afternoon, Rodriguez got one last chance to celebrate with the home fans, coming up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning. After Rodriguez took a home-run swing at a fastball and fouled it back, Kansas City Royals right-hander Blake Wood sent a pitch up and in on the Yankees slugger, knocking the ball off his left hand.
Rodriguez stayed on the ground for a moment and was replaced by a pinch runner, but the injury turned out to be no worse than a bruise. He is expected to start on Monday.
Robinson Cano followed Rodriguez in that eighth inning and managed to give the New York fans at least a small piece of history, collecting the 1,000th hit of his career with a ground-rule double that drove in two in the 12-6 rout.
Armed with a three-game lead over the Rays in the AL East, the Yankees close out their seven-game road trip with three at Tampa Bay after finishing up with the Cleveland Indians.
Javier Vazquez will take the mound for the Yankees on Monday. The veteran right-hander was one of the better pitchers in the American League between June 1 and the All-Star break, going 4-2 with a 2.55 ERA while holding opponents to a .172 batting average in eight starts.
But after a 10-day break, Vazquez could not find the magic last Wednesday, allowing five runs on nine hits in five innings against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The offense bailed him out however, handing Vazquez a win with a 10-6 victory.
The Puerto Rico native has faced the Indians 16 times in his career, going 7-5 with a 4.40 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 94 total innings.
Cleveland will counter with Jake Westbrook, who has been a frequent object of trade rumors in the past few weeks. The veteran sinkerballer has been connected mostly to National League teams in need of mid-rotation starters with playoff experience.
Westbrook has not been particularly impressive of late, going 1-2 in his last three starts while allowing 11 runs in 17 2/3 combined innings.
One of his more troublesome outings occured last Wednesday when he issued five walks while striking out only one batter in a loss at the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees have been trouble for the right-hander in the past, knocking him around for a 5.29 ERA in 10 games - seven starts.
Rodriguez is 9-for-24 with a homer off Westbrook in his career.