Tuesday MLB: New York Yankees (26-19) at Texas Rangers (26-18)
Alex Rodriguez certainly enjoyed his return to Texas on Monday, as A-Rod went 5-for-5 with four RBI, two doubles and two runs scored as the Yanks crushed Texas in Game 1 of this series, 11-1.
Rodriguez heard plenty of boos in his first game back in Arlington since admitting he took steroids with the Rangers. The five hits matched a career high, the fifth time he has had that many in a game. His average jumped from .189 to .259. A-Rod, who played for Texas from 2001 to 2003, joins Ruben Sierra as the only players to have a five-hit game against the Rangers after previously playing for Texas.
New York needed the win to restore a little confidence after the Phillies took two of three in the Bronx over the weekend. But the news wasn’t all good Monday as the Yankees lost reliever Brian Bruney (arm pain) to the disabled list for the second time in a month.
With Bruney out at least two weeks, the Yankees will turn to Phil Coke, Jose Veras and Alfredo Aceves to fill the void. Chien-Ming Wang will stay in the bullpen for now too, with manager Joe Girardi say he wasn’t sure when Wang would return to the starting rotation. Wang was “better” in his three-inning relief outing on Friday, but the manager wants to see more consistency with his sinker before he reinserts him into the rotation.
It was thought Wang might take Joba Chamberlain’s spot in the rotation after Joba left his last start against the Orioles in the first inning when Adam Jones hit a line drive off his right knee. But Joba will start tonight and is 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA in his last six starts. He is 2-0 with a 2.22 ERA in four starts on the road. That’s the fourth-lowest road ERA in the American League. But his career 7.27 ERA against the Rangers is his highest against any AL team. Yet the Yanks are -125 money line favorites on WagerWeb.com.
Texas counters with Kevin Millwood (4-4, 3.12). He went the distance last time out but lost to Detroit, allowing four runs. The veteran right-hander is 1-4 with a 4.46 ERA in seven career starts against the Yankees.
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