The Texas Rangers and New York Yankees are set to close out a three-game series Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium
Texas Rangers at New York Yankees
Texas got hammered for a second straight night in a 12-4 loss to New York at Yankee Stadium, as the pitching staff allowed eight walks and five home runs. “We need a well-pitched job,” said Rangers manager Ron Washington. “That’s what we need, whether it’s a starter or somebody out of the bullpen.” The Rangers have now dropped four consecutive games by getting outscored 38-10, serving as the club’s longest losing streak of the year and matches Baltimore for the longest current losing streak in the American League. Over the last four games, the starting staff has issued 25 hits and 20 runs (19 earned) in 14 frames. Texas is 13-11 in day games this season.
Rangers starting pitcher C.J. Wilson is scheduled to make his 15th start and appearance and brings in a 7-3 record and 3.09 ERA. The left-hander is 13th in the AL by holding his opponents to a .232 average, including lefties hitting just .156 against him over his last seven starts. Wilson is 4-0 with a 2.98 ERA over seven starts during the day this season, the seventh-lowest ERA during the day among AL pitchers. He is also a perfect 5-0 with a 2.70 ERA over seven games in the month of June over the last two years. The 30-year-old is a winless 0-3 with a 4.12 ERA in 20 career games (three starts) versus the Yankees.
New York owns the second-best winning percentage in the AL behind Boston and the third-best in the Majors. The Yankees are also a season-high 10 games over .500, produced by an 18-9 mark since May 17. Wednesday’s win gave the club a 6-2 edge in the season series, while the team is looking to score 10 or more runs in four consecutive games against one opponent for the first time since 1949. New York is searching for its fifth sweep of the season and has tallied an impressive 15-7 mark in series finales, winning seven of its last nine such contests. The Yankees are also a Major League-best 17-3 in day games this season.
Yankees starting pitcher Brian Gordon is making his first career Major League start today at the age of 32, but it will be his fourth appearance in the big leagues. He made three relief appearances for the Texas Rangers in 2008, allowing one earned run in four combined innings. “Gordon’s had an outstanding season in Triple-A for the Phillies,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi commented. “Seems to throw a lot of strikes, has good command.” Gordon went 5-0 this season with an International League-best 1.14 ERA.
Bettors will likely back the Rangers due to their 7-0 record after losing the first two games of a series, while the Yankees are just four games over .500 at home this season
