The New York Yankees look to start the 2011 season with a second consecutive home victory against the Detroit Tigers Sunday

Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees

Detroit gets set for the second game of its season opening series against New York and it looks like the club has settled on a steady roster of 25 players.  Fifteen members of the Tigers were also on the Opening Day roster last year and 10 of them were drafted and developed by the franchise.  It’s important to note that the team will only go as far as their cleanup hitter, Miguel Cabrera, will take them.  He has hit safely in 23 of his 24 career games against the Yankees, notching a .365 lifetime average with eight home runs and 20 RBIs.  The former Marlins star has hit .315 with 358 RBI since joining the Tigers.  Detroit is 65-100 on the road the last two-plus seasons.

Tigers starting pitcher Brad Penny will be making his first career start for the franchise, going 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA in nine outings for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2010 campaign.  The steadiness that he showed in last year’s starts resulted in Detroit signing him to a one-year deal in the offseason, while he went 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA in six spring starts.  Penny’s only other time in the AL came when he posted a 5.61 ERA in 24 starts with Boston in 2009.  The right-hander is 1-1 with a 6.60 ERA in three career regular-season outings versus the Yankees, but he will be making his first appearance at the new Yankee Stadium.

New York opened its 109th season in franchise history with a 6-3 home victory against today’s opponent and will be playing 13 of its first 16 games at Yankee Stadium.  If Saturday’s game comes down to the bullpens, the Yankees likely have the advantage with Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano and closer Mariano Rivera all coming off perfect innings in the opener.  “We talked about our bullpen could play a huge role for us this year and it did Thursday,” said manager Joe Girardi.  “You got three scoreless innings out of them.  And we’re going to need that.”  New York is 120-56 at home the past two-plus seasons.

Yankees starting pitcher A.J. Burnett is looking for a bounce back year after going 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA in 33 starts last season.  The right-hander was 5-7 with a 4.59 ERA in 14 home outings during the 2010 campaign, which was better than his 5.76 ERA on the road.  Burnett went a perfect 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA in five April starts last year, giving up just a single home run in 33.1 innings of work.  He has compiled a 3-1 record in six career starts versus Detroit despite holding a 7.34 ERA in the process.

Bettors will likely back the Yankees due to their 11-3 record in Burnett’s last 14 starts versus the AL Central, while the Tigers are 2-9 following an off day.