06/16: Weekend Series with The Nationals
Posted by: James
Looking at the pitching matchups going into this series with the Nationals, it looks like it could be an interesting series.
The Yankees will be facing two pitchers who they have never seen before and it might be coincidental but it seems that the Yanks don't usually fare very well when that's the case. The first pitcher they face is Shawn Hill, a 25-year-old righty, who is making just his fourth start of the year (and he's done very well in his first three). He's also gotten some breaks too, i.e. his ERA is 1.80 while his FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching - which I believe to be a better, while not perfect, indicator of how well a player is pitching) is 4.13. He has a good minors pedigree (another of my Harrisburg guys) of low walks with a serviceable amount of strikeouts. While the Ks have come down in the majors, he's still shown good command and looks to be a good pitcher. It'll be interesting to see whether he can hit his spots against a (usually) patient Yankees lineup.
Ramon Ortiz is more of a known quantity as he's pitched against the Yanks quite a few times in his tenure with the Angels and looking at the outings, he's done pretty well against them so far.. And don't let that 4.88 ERA fool you, his FIP is right there with Hill's at 4.19 and since hitting a high-point of 6.30 on May 12, he's put together a string of 6 straight solid starts (3.43 ERA, 7.3 Ks and 2.1 BBs per 9) and lowered that ERA to its current point.
Pitching last in the matchup is Michael O'Connor. Another Harrisburg guy with good minor league numbers, the lefty O'Connor has pitched very well for the Nationals since being brought up in late April. He's a good pitcher, posting a FIP of 4.06 while being able to get some Ks (6.27 per 9) when he needs to. He's still working on his control (4.18 per 9) and he's coming off his worst outing of the season so hopefully, the Yanks can work him around a little bit if he hasn't righted himself just yet.
Seriously, the three guys the Yanks go up against this series can pitch, and the dimensions of the stadium will only help them (there won't be a real homefield advantage though - I fully expect the crowd to be in line with what the Yanks see at Orioles games). Hopefully, the Yankees bats come to play for this series - we might need them. Course, some good pitching outings would be great as well.
Oh, and for those who haven't noticed, one of the few Yanks not slumping right now is Robbie Cano, who scored the Yankees only run with a solo shot last night and currently owns a 13 game hitting streak. He has put up a line of .453/.463/.660 to get his overall production for the year back into more acceptable territory. Take note that he hasn't walked once in those 13 games. Of course, if he continues to hit like this, it won't matter and if the Yanks keep winning series, neither will what any other team does.
The Yankees will be facing two pitchers who they have never seen before and it might be coincidental but it seems that the Yanks don't usually fare very well when that's the case. The first pitcher they face is Shawn Hill, a 25-year-old righty, who is making just his fourth start of the year (and he's done very well in his first three). He's also gotten some breaks too, i.e. his ERA is 1.80 while his FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching - which I believe to be a better, while not perfect, indicator of how well a player is pitching) is 4.13. He has a good minors pedigree (another of my Harrisburg guys) of low walks with a serviceable amount of strikeouts. While the Ks have come down in the majors, he's still shown good command and looks to be a good pitcher. It'll be interesting to see whether he can hit his spots against a (usually) patient Yankees lineup.
Ramon Ortiz is more of a known quantity as he's pitched against the Yanks quite a few times in his tenure with the Angels and looking at the outings, he's done pretty well against them so far.. And don't let that 4.88 ERA fool you, his FIP is right there with Hill's at 4.19 and since hitting a high-point of 6.30 on May 12, he's put together a string of 6 straight solid starts (3.43 ERA, 7.3 Ks and 2.1 BBs per 9) and lowered that ERA to its current point.
Pitching last in the matchup is Michael O'Connor. Another Harrisburg guy with good minor league numbers, the lefty O'Connor has pitched very well for the Nationals since being brought up in late April. He's a good pitcher, posting a FIP of 4.06 while being able to get some Ks (6.27 per 9) when he needs to. He's still working on his control (4.18 per 9) and he's coming off his worst outing of the season so hopefully, the Yanks can work him around a little bit if he hasn't righted himself just yet.
Seriously, the three guys the Yanks go up against this series can pitch, and the dimensions of the stadium will only help them (there won't be a real homefield advantage though - I fully expect the crowd to be in line with what the Yanks see at Orioles games). Hopefully, the Yankees bats come to play for this series - we might need them. Course, some good pitching outings would be great as well.
Oh, and for those who haven't noticed, one of the few Yanks not slumping right now is Robbie Cano, who scored the Yankees only run with a solo shot last night and currently owns a 13 game hitting streak. He has put up a line of .453/.463/.660 to get his overall production for the year back into more acceptable territory. Take note that he hasn't walked once in those 13 games. Of course, if he continues to hit like this, it won't matter and if the Yanks keep winning series, neither will what any other team does.
Seamus wrote: