While the Mets managed to salvage the finale of their series against Washington, the Yankees failed to finish the sweep of the Rays with ace C.C. Sabathia on the mound.
The Rays beat New York 7-3 as Tampa Bay starter David Price recorded his A.L.-best eighth win. The Yanks had their chances in the game. Down 5-2 in the eighth inning, they brought the tying run to the plate only to have Eric Chavez groundout. New York went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and are now batting .218 as a team in such situations. The loss was just their fourth in 14 games.
Now the Yanks will face Johan Santana, fresh off pitching the first no-hitter in Mets team history. Hiroki Kuroda will take the mound for the Yankees. Kuroda is 4-6 with a 3.82 ERA this season after signing with New York this winter. Manager Terry Collins has said that he will treat Santana as though it is a normal start despite him throwing a career-high in pitches last start. He will be pitching on two extra days of rest.
And don't expect Yankee hitters to treat Santana any differently either. "I don't want our guys to change their approach," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "You keep your same approach because he may have no ill-effects of it. It may not bother him."
Several Yankees have had success hitting against Santana in the past. Derek Jeter (. 442 in 43 at-bats), Robinson Cano (.364 in 22 at-bats) and Raul Ibanez (.348 in 46 at-bats) have all gotten the better of Santana. Ibanez typically doesn't play against lefties, but Girardi could look to start Ibanez after looking at his numbers.
The Yanks will look to continue their winning ways when they take on their crosstown rivals in the Bronx Friday night. Despite winning 10 of their last 14 games, New York finds themselves in third place in the A.L. East, but just a half-game behind division-leading Baltimore and Tampa Bay.
