The New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs are set to open a three-game Interleague series Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field
New York Yankees at Chicago Cubs
New York is set to begin a six-game road trip and will play 15 consecutive Interleague games starting with today’s contest. The Yankees completed their season-high-tying 10-game homestand with a 6-4 mark and finished off a three-game sweep of the Rangers Thursday with a 3-2 extra-innings win. Offensively, the team has scored 51 runs while batting .336 with 13 home runs in its last seven games, producing a 6-1 mark to end its stay at home. “It’s really positive because the homestand started off terrible with the three losses to the Red Sox,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi commented. The solid play is likely to continue with the squad bringing in a Major League-best 18-3 record in day games.
Yankees starting pitcher Freddy Garcia will make his 12th start (13th appearance) of the season, entering with a 4-5 record and 3.60 ERA. The right-hander has earned a victory in three of his last four starts, including a 9-1 Yankees victory versus Cleveland on June 12. Garcia has made 37 career Interleague starts, going 21-9 with a 2.91 ERA and .224 opponents average. Among all pitchers, he is tied for the third-most Interleague wins, second in ERA and seventh in opponents batting average with at least 30 starts. He is undefeated in four daytime outings this season, going 3-0 and allowing only four combined runs in 25 frames.
Chicago hit its way to a 12-7 win over Milwaukee and a 3-1 series win Thursday afternoon. The Cubs now have a 4-3 edge in the season series against their National League Central rivals, who entered town having just taken over the division lead. “They were playing pretty well and they are a very good baseball team,” Cubs manager Mike Quade stated. “We’ll see a lot of them and we’ll have our work cut out for us.” The club will resume Interleague play with a 1-2 record this season and has a 99-109 all-time mark against the American League since 1997. Outfielder Alfonso Soriano relishes this time of the season, hitting 28 home runs in Interleague play, including eight with the Cubs since 2007. Chicago is 12-19 in day games this season.
Cubs starting pitcher Doug Davis has registered a winless 0-5 mark and 5.90 ERA in six starts this season and will be looking to snap a career-high six-game losing streak that dates back to May 10, 2010. The left-hander is 9-9 with a 6.27 ERA in 30 games (26 starts) versus the American League East, including a 3-2 mark and 6.28 ERA in six outings against the Yankees. Davis is 0-3 with a 3.38 ERA in three home starts compared to a 0-2 mark and 9.00 ERA on the road.
Bettors will likely back the Yankees due to their 9-1 record versus left-handed starters, while the Cubs are 2-7 in their last nine games against the AL East
