Yankees at Padres series preview

The Yankees are coming off a split against the American League’s top team, the Texas Rangers. After being outplayed and games one and two and for the most part of game three the Bronx Bombers were able to rally late on Wednesday and walk-off thanks to a Didi Gregorius home run. Michael Pineda came up huge in game four and “No Runs DMC” lived up to their name, the Yanks were able to walk off again after Robinson Chirinos let a Tony Barnette pitch by to the backstop allowing Chase Headley to score. The Yankees now sit with a 39-39 record good for 4^th place in the AL East. That being said these last two wins over the Rangers were beyond impressive and showed that these guys still have some fight left in them. That brings us to this weekend series where it will be a rematch of the 1998 World Series when the Bombers travel west to sunny San Diego to take on the Padres.

GAME ONE: (Friday July 1, 2016| 10:40 PM ET)

Nathan Eovaldi (6-5 5.19 ERA) vs. Colin Rea (4-3 5.05 ERA)

Talk about a matchup of guys that like to give up runs. After a strong start to the season, Eovaldi has come back down to earth and gotten hit hard in his last five games. He’s pitched so poorly that many fans via social media have been calling for manager Joe Girardi to remove him from the rotation. Rea can be dazzling at times but at others looks lost out there. The Yankees have a tendency to make mediocre pitchers look incredible so it will be important to jump on Rea from the start.

Picture Credit: Anthony Gruppuso | USA TODAY Sports

GAME TWO: (Saturday July 2, 2016| 10:10 PM ET)

Ivan Nova (5-5 5.32 ERA) vs. Drew Pomeranz (7-7 2.76 ERA)

This matchup looks like a disaster on paper and it might be even worse in reality. Ivan Nova has a ERA of 9.00 in his last three outings. Needless to say, that isn’t good whereas San Diego starter Drew Pomeranz is twirling an All-Star season. Spacious Petco Park should help Nova’s ERA dip a little bit but the Yankees have their hands full with Pomeranz who in his last start vs. Cincinnati picked up the win and also deposited his second career homerun into the right field bleachers.

GAME THREE: (Sunday July 3, 2016| 4:40 PM ET)

Chad Green (0-1 7.20 ERA) vs. Andrew Cashner (3-5 4.75 ERA)

This is an intriguing matchup in the series finale as the Yankees will bring up Chad Green who has thrown a total of five innings this year. He’ll be opposed by the big right-hander Andrew Cashner who is making his first start since going on the DL back in May. Both pitchers will probably have the nerves going wire to wire so expect a lot of offense in this game.

Picture Credit: Ross D. Franklin | AP

Three Yankee Players to Watch

1. Didi Gregorius: Didi is coming off a fine series vs. Texas and should look to continue that success in a ballpark that he has played in numerous times during his tenure as a Diamondback.

   

   Picture Credit: Noah K. Murray | USA TODAY Sports

2. Andrew Miller: In my opinion he is the most important of the Yankees three headed monster and should be used in the highest leverage situations against San Diego.
3. Jacoby Ellsbury: As goes Ellsbury so go the Yankees, the speedy leadoff catalyst atop New York’s lineup will be key to getting to the Padres starters and into their bullpen.

Three Padre Players to Watch

1. Drew Pomeranz: The Padres best starter is a likely candidate to be traded by the deadline. His sub 3.00 ERA has been an impressive part of the Padres season.
2. Wil Myers: Myers is showing the power that made him a super prospect years ago.  The ball has left the yard 18 times off Myers’ bat already this season. Yankees pitchers will have their hands full with this guy.
3. Yangervis Solarte: This one is just because once players leave the Yankees they seem to turn into mega stars when they face their former club.

Keys to Victory

• Get the ball to DMC with a lead.
• Pitch around Wil Myers and Matt Kemp in high leverage situations.
• Starters need be economical with pitches in the early innings.

Prediction:

I’m giving the Yankees no shot in game two. Drew Pomeranz has been too good and Ivan Nova has been about as bad as anyone can be of late. I like Eovaldi for a big bounce back game in the series opener. Game three is a tough one, conventional wisdom would be to side with San Diego based on Cashner having much more experience than Chad Green but after these last two huge wins against the Rangers I’m predicting the Yankees win games one and three and grab themselves a series victory on the west coast.

Article by: Matt Cote

Follow me on Twitter: @MCote31

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