Colorado @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 21, 2007 ) NY Yankees 3, Colorado 4

THE STORY: The New York Yankees, owners of the all-time best record in interleague play, will look to continue that success when they host the Colorado Rockies in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night. Colorado's Jason Giambi, who spent seven years with New York, is probably the player most eager to see Yankee Stadium – and not purely for sentimental reasons. With the designated hitter in play, Giambi will get at least two starts against his ex-teammates.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ROOT, YES

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Ubaldo Jimenez (2-7, 4.68 ERA) vs. Yankees RH A.J. Burnett (7-5, 3.16 ERA)

Jimenez continues to search for his form of 2010, when he started 15-1 en route to a 19-8 season. He went only five innings last time out due to a cramp in his right calf, but got the win against Detroit by allowing three runs on eight hits. Jimenez has been a different pitcher on the road, going 1-2 with a 2.06 ERA in five starts. Unfortunately, the Rockies have provided little support with a combined 10 runs in those outings. Russell Martin is 8-for-25 against him.

Burnett has rebounded with two strong efforts after getting pummeled by Boston. He still doesn't pitch as deep into games as the Yankees would like, averaging a hair over six innings per start. Control has been the biggest issue for Burnett, who has walked at least three batters in six of his last eight starts. He won his last outing, going 5 1/3 innings and striking out eight in a 4-3 win over the Cubs. Burnett hasn't faced the Rockies since the 2004 season.

ABOUT THE ROCKIES (37-37): After going 17-8 in April, Colorado almost skidded off the tracks with an 8-21 mark in May. Now, after splitting the first 12 games of June, the Rockies are showing signs of consistency by going 6-2 in the last eight. SS Troy Tulowitzki has rebounded from an abysmal month of May. He has hit in 12 of his last 14, including eight multi-hit games. Seth Smith has hit safely in 15 of 18 games and Carlos Gonzalez has hit in 13 of 15 to boost his average 32 points to .281.

ABOUT THE YANKEES (43-30): Despite a patchwork pitching rotation, New York owns the second-base record in the American League and is one-half game behind AL East-leading Boston. The Yankees had a string of six strong starts come to an end in a 10-2 thumping by Cincinnati on Wednesday night. Still, New York has won 10 of 13 and is a season-high 13 games above .500. Robinson Cano is batting .409 during an 11-game hitting streak and Alex Rodriguez has four straight multi-hit games, although he hasn’t homered in his last 10.

FINAL PITCH: In 2002, the Yankees and Rockies met in a memorable three-game series in Colorado. The teams combined for a staggering 70 runs that included a 20-10 victory by New York.