New York @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Aug 28, 2011 ) NY Yankees 0, Baltimore 2
THE STORY: Will a day off because of Hurricane Irene slow the momentum of the hottest team in the American League East? The Baltimore Orioles will find out when they put their five-game winning streak on the line against the visiting New York Yankees in a day-night doubleheader Sunday. Irene wiped out Saturday’s scheduled twinbill, forcing the teams to play two Sunday and leaving Yankees manager Joe Girardi irate that the Orioles declined to schedule a doubleheader Friday. Meanwhile, New York has dropped two games behind division-leading Boston in the AL East.
TV: 7:35 p.m. ET, YES (New York), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Ivan Nova (13-4, 3.97 ERA) vs. Orioles LH Brian Matusz (1-6, 8.92).
Nova has won all five of his starts since his recall from the minors to extend his winning streak to nine consecutive decisions. That stretch has elevated him from an afterthought to a potential No. 2 starter in the postseason. He threw seven scoreless innings at Minnesota in his last start. Nova limited Baltimore to two runs in seven innings in a 17-3 romp July 30. A demotion to the minors did nothing to solve Matusz's woes. He lost his last two outings since his recall, extending his skid to six consecutive starts. He has been tagged for at least six runs in his last four starts, and has been surrendering home runs at an alarming rate. The 24-year-old lefthander has been taken deep 11 times in eight starts spanning 36 1/3 innings.
ABOUT THE ORIOLES (52-77): Baltimore limped into Minnesota on a five-game losing streak, but rebounded to pull off a four-game series sweep prior to thumping the Yankees 12-5 on Friday. Baltimore has outscored the opposition 36-9 in the five games and held the Twins to one run in four straight games. Matt Wieters has a seven-game hitting and a seven-game RBI streak, batting .462 with three homers and 10 RBIs. Nolan Reimold has driven in eight runs during a seven-game hitting streak, and Mark Reynolds has homered in three straight games and collected eight RBIs in his last four. J.J. Hardy is riding a nine-game hitting streak.
ABOUT THE YANKEES (78-51): New York set a major league record by belting three grand slams (Robinson Cano, Russell Martin, Curtis Granderson) in a 22-9 thrashing of Oakland on Thursday. Despite hitting three more homers Friday, the Yankees were never in the game. Lost in the power barrage were some troubling performances by New York’s pitching, which has been pummeled for 33 runs in losing three of the last four games. Cano is riding a 17-game hitting streak and has 18 RBIs in that span. Nick Swisher has four homers and seven RBIs in his last four games and needs one homer to reach 20 for the seventh straight season. Alex Rodriguez also homered Friday – his first since June 11.
FINAL PITCH: "It's silly to me. I don't understand why we didn't play a split doubleheader (Friday). Someone's got to step up. They did it all over the country. … We didn't agree to play Sept. 8. They scheduled it, we didn't agree with it, and I really don't understand it. We're going to fight it. It just doesn't make sense." – Yankees manager Girardi after Saturday’s postponement forced a makeup date on Sept. 8, a previously scheduled day off.