The New York Yankees are hosting a doubleheader with the Los Angeles Dodgers in one of the most interesting interleague series of the season and after the first game was an exciting win for the Yankees, as they took a 3-0 lead into the seventh before winning 6-4, the two teams will face off again on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium for the second tilt.
The series has lots of intrigue and excitement as manager Don Mattingly returns to the Bronx and also because of all the stars and history involved. The Dodgers haven't been back to the stadium since 1981 when the two teams played in the World Series and now they will try to win the second game as to not get swept in the day-night double header. The Yankees needed the win badly and now they are 40-31 on the season after the thrilling victory that saw the Dodgers cut the lead to 6-4 in the eighth on a Hanley Ramirez home run.
Here is the link for the Yankees vs. Dodgers radio stream for the second game of the double header.
The Yankees came into the game after a long West coast road trip and the win on Wednesday afternoon was a welcome result for the team as they try to chase down the Red Sox in the division. Mariano Rivera came in for the save in the ninth while Kuroda got the win for the Yankees while Ryu took only his third loss of the year. The Yankees did it with some power on Tuesday, as Lyle Overbay hit a two run double and Ichiro Suzuki went 3-4 with a home run in the contest.
The Yankees finished with eight hits while the dodgers played sloppy with four errors in the game and they nearly made a comeback in the end to win it. The Dodgers won the World Series the last time the two teams played and they got back a ways, as the two teams have met in 11 World Series, with eight of them going to New York. This is the first time they have played in an interleague series in the Bronx and Kuroda did well against his former team, shutting them down until the seventh inning.
The top of the order did well for the Yankees and they will be looking to do it again on Wednesday night in the second game as the team goes for the series sweep in one quick day of work. The Yankees and Dodgers both could use the wins, as LA is now on a bit of a slump after coming in losing seven of their last 10 games. The night cap is a different pitching matchup than earlier, as Chris Capuano and Phil Hughes will face off.
Hughes has been up and down this season with a 3-5 record and a near-5.00 ERA and Capuano will be looking for his second win of the season after going just 1-4 with a 5.45 ERA this year. The Dodgers have struggled on the road and are now 10 games under .500 away from Dodger Stadium, while the Yankees improved to 20-13 at home with the victory.
The Yankees are three games back in the division and are dealing with a number of injuries, including Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis, who are both back on the DL again. The Yankees need some offensive support and if the pitching isn't there, they will struggle to make the playoffs. The team is ranked 22nd in the league in runs and 24th in batting average and they will need to get those numbers up to contend.