The New York Yankees were in desperate need of some wins and some home runs after dealing with a power outage over the summer and newly acquired Alfonso Soriano came through big time against the Angels, hitting two more home runs on Wednesday to give him three over the past two days to help the team beat the Angels.
The Yankees are going for the series sweep on Thursday afternoon from the Stadium in the Bronx and Alfonso Soriano will again be the focal point after going six for nine and hitting four home runs with 13 RBIs over the past two games and that came after he was hitting just .193 in the 15 games before after he was acquired from the Cubs. The 37-year-old has brought some much needed power to the lineup and Alex Rodriguez has looked good in his return as well.
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The Yankees will go up against CJ Wilson on Thursday, who is 12-6 with a 3.49 ERA and he is 2-0 over his last four starts against New York with a sub-2.50 ERA in that span. Wilson has been pitching very well and is 4-0 over his past six starts with a 3.46 ERA and that comes with his win against Cleveland on Saturday that saw him allow just two runs. The Yankees are 62-57 this season and are hanging in there for the Wild Card race, while the Angels have had an awful year and are fading fast.
Mike Trout has once again been the best player for the team, while the rest of the big signings have been a disappointment. The Yankees are thrilled about the way Soriano has played and he followed up his two home run and six RBI game with a grand slam off Jered Weaver in the first inning on Wednesday before adding another home run later. Phil Hughes will pitch for the Yankees and he is coming in during a bad stretch this season and he is just 4-11 with a 4.99 ERA and he has mostly been ineffective this season. Hughes is 0-4 over his last six starts and he did not fare well against Detroit over the weekend, giving up four runs and seven hits.
The Yankees are hanging around in the playoff hunt and have been scoring in bunches lately after being held down for weeks. Robinson Cano is hot as well while hitting over .400 during the past nine games and he will get the chance against Wilson again on Thursday. The Yankees have struggled offensively all season and are ranked 22nd in runs and 25th in batting average and are 24th and 29th in on base and slugging percentage.