Milwaukee @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 29, 2011 ) Milwaukee 2, NY Yankees 5

THE STORY: The Milwaukee Brewers will get an up-close look at the big one that got away when they face ace CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees in the finale of a three-game set Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Milwaukee made a daring trade to acquire Sabathia from Cleveland in 2008, and it paid immediate dividends as he went 11-2 – including seven complete games – and helped the Brewers advance to the playoffs. Then the Yankees emptied the vault in the off-season to bring Sabathia to New York, leaving Milwaukee with an expensive short-term rental. Lefty Randy Wolf opposes Sabathia as the Brewers look to avoid a three-game sweep.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers LH Randy Wolf (6-4, 3.20 ERA) vs. Yankees LH CC Sabatia (10-4, 3.25). Wolf has bounced back nicely from an ugly start to the season when he lost his first two outings and surrendered 12 runs. He is 6-2 in his last 14 starts and has not lost since May 17. The 34-year-old has won each of his last two starts, going seven innings in each and allowing two earned runs combined. He is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in two starts against the Yankees, but hasn't faced them since 2008. Jorge Posada is 2-for-5 with a homer against him. Sabathia won his third straight start last time out, limiting the Colorado Rockies to one run on seven hits while equaling a season high with nine strikeouts. He is tied with four pitchers for the most wins in the majors after going 7-1 in his last eight starts. The Yankees are backing him up with a robust 8.5 runs of support in each outing. Sabathia is 0-1 in two starts against Milwaukee, but hasn't faced them since 2006. Yuniesky Betancourt is hitless in 15 at-bats against Sabathia.

ABOUT THE YANKEES (47-31): New York wrapped up its sixth straight series to open a 2 1/2-game lead over Boston atop the American League East. Since losing four of seven to open the month, the Yankees have ripped off 14 wins in 18 games. They have gotten great production from Nick Swisher and Posada, who entered June batting .215 and .169, respectively. Swisher is riding a six-game hitting streak and has 23 RBIs this month, including eight in the last four games. Posada is 7-for-12 with two homers and four RBIs in his last four games. Alex Rodriguez had his eight-game hitting streak snapped Wednesday.

ABOUT THE BREWERS (44-37): Milwaukee dropped to 15-26 on the road - and that includes a four-game sweep at Florida to kick off the month. Two dismal performances from the team’s two best pitchers put the Brewers in an early hole in both games against New York. Ryan Braun has been the only constant on offense. He has hit in 19 consecutive games after going 3-for-4 Wednesday night. While Prince Fielder extended his hitting streak to 11 games, he grounded into an inning-ending double play in the first and - first-pitch swinging - grounded out again with the bases loaded in the sixth.

FINAL PITCH: Sabathia is 50-19 in 85 starts with New York since the start of the 2009 season. That ties Chien-Ming Wang as the fastest pitcher to notch 50 wins with the Yankees in the last 30 years.