The Orioles offense was sparked by the long ball, which may sound like deja vu for a team that’s clubbed 250 home runs this season but don’t adjust your monitors.

Jonathan Schoop, Mark Trumbo and Adam Jones each socked home runs in the 8-1 defeat that the Yankees were handed. With the loss, the Yankees drop to 83-77 on the season. The Orioles meanwhile are 88-72 and are still in position to be playing beyond Sunday’s season finale.

Michael Pineda was often inconsistent and inefficient but still was able to strike out batters at a relatively high clip. That might sound familiar and like a case of deja vu too, but like with Baltimore’s home run-hitting abilities, trends trickled into Friday night for both sides.

Only three hits were able to be mustered up by the Yankee offense against Yovani Gallardo and the Orioles’ bullpen. Brian McCann picked up two of the three hits with the other coming off the bat of outfielder Aaron Hicks. No extra-base hits were recorded by the men in pinstripes.

The Play: Schoop puts the O’s on the board (+.230 WPA)

Interestingly enough, on a night where the long ball was the story, it was a double by Jonathan Schoop that made the biggest difference in the ballgame. Schoop gave the Orioles a lead they would not relinquish despite Mark Teixeira answering with a sac fly in the ensuing inning. A trio of home runs by Jones, Trumbo and Schoop would then put the Yankees away for good the following inning.

Notes

– The 250 home runs hit by the Orioles this season make them the fifth team in MLB history to hit at least 250. They accomplished the feat back in 1996, so they are the first team to do it twice.

– The Yankees went 0-for-7 with RISP. The Orioles, meanwhile, were 3-for-10. They left 11 on base, while the Yankees merely left eight.

– Jacoby Ellsbury recorded his 20th steal of the season. This marks the seventh season in his career that he has had at least 20 bags swiped.

The Highlight: Headley makes a snag

One of the lone highlights for the Yankees on Friday night was this pretty sweet grab by third baseman Chase Headley. We’ll give him some props for that one.

Up Next

The Yankees continue their quest to play spoilers against the likely playoff-bound Orioles on Saturday afternoon. Luis Severino (3-8, 5.75 ERA) will be on the mound for the Yankees while Wade Miley (9-13, 5.40 ERA) will oppose him for the O’s.

Photo: Adam Hunger / USA Today Sports

All things don’t always go as planned though, as time has told us. That mantra was ever apparent in Toronto on Friday night in the wake of the 9-0 defeat at the hands of the Blue Jays.

The Yankees worked the Jays into a precarious position with a bases-loaded, two-out situation in the top of the first inning but failed to capitalize and didn’t score a run for the rest of the evening. The Blue Jays would then mirror the situation the ensuing inning and plate two. Two innings later, the Yankees would have two runners aboard with one out, but Billy Butler and Didi Gregorius couldn’t quite get ahold of the ball at the plate, and down they went with runners on again. It would take a few innings, but these squandered chances would bite them in the behind as four runs would come across to score for Canada’s team in the bottom of the seventh inning. Josh Donaldson, an AL MVP candidate by any measure, struck the final blow with a two-run home run in the eighth.

Despite falling into early trouble, starter Bryan Mitchell didn’t have a terrible outing by any means. Through six innings, Mitchell allowed three runs, only one earned, and six hits. However the four walks he would issue would be the sorest of spots. The bullpen would be pelted, in particular Blake Parker, who was charged with the four runs that came around to score in the bottom of the seventh. Ben Heller would be tagged with two runs later off the bat of Donaldson’s two-run bomb.

Francisco Liriano meanwhile strung together a quality outing after falling into trouble early on. Liriano danced his way out of that early hiccup and cruised onward, allowing three hits over his six innings of work. No runs would come to pass while he was toeing the rubber, as Liriano fanned six batters and issued only two free passes. He and the Blue Jays pitchers only allowed one extra-base hit that came in the second inning off the bat of Gary Sanchez who hit a ground-rule double. In fact, the Blue Jays bullpen tossed three no-hit innings with one baserunner coming off a walk by Aaron Hicks.

The Play: Tulo puts the Jays on the board (+.160 WPA)

The biggest swing in the game came in the early frame off of this two-run single by shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo’s early damage put the Yankees behind the eight ball and that was only further impacted by Liriano’s stout outing on the mound and the Yankees’ inability to capitalize with runners on and runners in scoring position.

Notes

– Gary Sanchez went 2-for-4 while playing the designated hitter role. The AL Rookie of the Year candidate is now slashing a cool .337/.413/.738 on the season.

– Josh Donaldson’s two-run blast in the eighth was his 36th homer of the season. He is five home runs shy of the career-high 41 he hit in 2015 when he, of course, won the AL MVP award.

– Toronto hit 5-for-11 with RISP. Conversely, the Yankees went 0-for-4.

The Highlight: Beware the popcorn shower

All in good fun, right?

Up Next

The Yankees will look to avenge the opening game loss on Saturday afternoon. CC Sabathia (8-12, 4.19 ERA) will be on the mound for the Yanks in one of the biggest games of the year while Marcus Stroman (9-9, 4.50 ERA) will look to continue to keep the ball rolling for the Jays.

Photo: John E. Sokolowski / USA Today Sports; Videos: MLBAM

Flash forward one week later and you couldn’t find a more polar opposite situation. The script has been flipped on the Yankees in a matter of days and after Friday night’s 7-4 loss to the rival Boston Red Sox, those Wild Card hopes are dwindling by the minute. The soul-crushing loss on Thursday didn’t help matters at all, and by contrast, Friday night’s matchup felt like a methodical thumping.

Off the bat the Red Sox batters made things difficult for Luis Cessa. Cessa had a rough go in the first inning, inducing lots of contact with his pitches as swing-and-miss stuff was very hard to come by. Boston tagged him for two early runs off the bats of David Ortiz and the hot-hitting Hanley Ramirez a night after he struck the Yankees with a deft blow to the gut with his walk-off homer. Hanley later tacked on another after going deep yet again to centerfield for his 26th long ball of the year.

Youngster Gary Sanchez, who has been regarded as one of the catalysts for this run that the Yankees have been on for the last month cut the deficit to one run after a two-run double in the ensuing inning. That would however prove to be the closest the Yankees would get afterwards as Boston continued to pile it on the young Yankee relievers. It’s hard to shove any vigorous vitriol their way; they have hardly faced such high-leverage situations and are being asked to move boulders during a pennant chase. Them’s are the breaks, of course, after the big bull of the bullpen was used for three consecutive days.

The Play: Sanchez smokes a double (+.178 WPA)

Perhaps amusing if nothing else, the play that provided the biggest impact of the game wound up being Sanchez’s double in the fifth inning. Although the Yankees didn’t wind up coming away with the victory, it still provided a bigger WPA than any other play in the game. Coming in second place was Hanley Ramirez’s first inning single that plated home the Red Sox’s second run of the game.

Notes

— The Yankees fall to 28-33 in games played against divisional opponents this season.

— With Hanley’s 26th homer, Ramirez is now seven shy of his career-high of 33 homers, a mark he set back in 2008. He is three shy of the second-best mark he set back in 2007 (29).

— New York is now 33-39 in road games this season. If they do indeed finish the season under .500 on the road, they would do so for the first time since the 2013 season when they went 39-42.

— The only Yankee to record a multi-hit game on Friday night was rightfielder Mason Williams who went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.

– New York went 1-for-11 with RISP, while Boston went 4-for-9. The Yankees left eight on base, and the Red Sox left just four.

The Highlight: Heads up, Gardy

Always keep your head on a swivel, kids.

Up Next

New York looks to stop the bleeding and get on the board with a victory on Saturday afternoon in Boston. Bryan Mitchell (1-1, 6.14 ERA) will be on the mound for the Yankees while former Cy Young winner David Price (16-8, 3.81 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Red Sox.

Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara / USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees were mostly aided by the home run ball in this encounter. Gary Sanchez and Mark Teixeira both went deep with Tex crushing his 11th career grand slam that broke the game open. Sanchez clocked a 400-plus foot home run earlier in the game, his eighth home run of at least 400 feet in his short stint in pinstripes. The Rays also used the home run ball to their benefit as Logan Morrison and Steven Souza Jr. smacked homers of the solo variety.

Offense was not entirely the story as they got good work from starter Michael Pineda. Although Pineda worked himself into trouble towards the end of his outing, he fanned seven batters in the encounter. Aside from Chasen Shreve being tagged for two runs, the Yankee bullpen had 3.2 clean innings of work against the Rays who amassed nine hits in the ball game, six of which came against the Yankee starter.

The game would be mired by not one, not two, but three rain delays including a lengthy one during the ninth inning.

The Play: Tex’s Grand Salami (+.234)

Given the situation and how the game presented itself at the time of this grand slam by Mark Teixeira, it’s hardly surprising that this was the most impactful play of the ballgame. The long blast from the Yankees first baseman swung probability in their favor and by night’s end, they were able to reap the benefits.

Notes

– Although he has had a rough go in September, Starlin Castro showed some promise with a 1-for-3 day at the plate with two walks.

– Pineda’s outing marked the 19th time this season that he has amassed at least six strikeouts. He finished his 4.2-inning outing with seven in total.

– Three Rays hitters scored multi-hit games as Logan Morison, Steven Souza Jr. and Corey Dickerson collected three hits, two hits and two hits respectively. The Yankees, meanwhile, had two such hitters as Gary Sanchez and Mark Teixeira also each recorded two-hit nights at the plate.

– The Yankees improve to 75-65 on the year and 42-28 at home.

The Highlight: Sanchez flashes a dazzling pickoff

Don’t run on Sanchez. Don’t pitch to Sanchez. And now, don’t take too far a lead off Sanchez, either.

Up Next

The Yankees go for the magnificent seven on Saturday in their next affair against the Rays. Masahiro Tanaka (12-4, 3.11 ERA) will be on the hill for the Yankees while Chris Archer (8-17, 4.06 ERA) will be on the bump for the Rays.

Photo: Adam Hunger / USA Today Sports

Sometimes things don’t go as you want them to and the Yankees wound up learning that the hard way. They were blitzkrieged by the Orioles on Friday night en route to an 8-0 defeat which was as poorly timed as it was backbreaking. Their shot surely isn’t completely snuffed out here on September 2, but was weakened for certain and the priority of victory is now raised sevenfold in this series.

Baltimore’s bats mostly provided impact via the long ball. The home team hit four homers against Yankee pitchers as Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, Pedro Alvarez and Manny Machado were tagged with doing the damage on the scoreboard. Apart from Adam Jones’ RBI single in the second inning, the home run was the entire source of offense for the home team Friday as Yankee pitchers could not keep the ball in the yard.

Starting pitcher Dylan Bundy kept the Yankee hitters at bay despite issuing four free passes. Bundy struck out five and allowed two hits over 5.2 innings, and the Yankees shot themselves in the foot many a time even with baserunners aboard.

The Play: The Bull goes on parade (WPA +.169)

Chad Green proved to be no matador in this at-bat against Baltimore’s Pedro Alvarez. El Toro went on a parade around the bases after unloading a crushing two-run shot to right field that excited the Camden Yards faithful to say the very least.

Notes

– Chad Green left the game in the earlygoings after experiencing elbow issues.

– Jonathan Holder was impressive in his first performance of the season. Holder had a clean inning, throwing a strikeout and allowed zero hits or baserunners in the frame.

– The Orioles amassed six extra-base hits, with the aforementioned four home runs joined by two doubles by JJ Hardy and Matt Wieters.

The Highlight: Yankees, Orioles team up for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Tonight in Baltimore and around the league, MLB teams wore yellow wristbands for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in conjunction with Stand Up 2 Cancer. All told, a very good move by Major League Baseball to help a worthy cause and initiative.

Up Next

The Yankees and Orioles will meet again on Saturday evening. CC Sabathia (8-11, 4.31 ERA) and Kevin Gausman (6-10, 3.73 ERA) will be your starters for the game. You’ll be able to catch the game on the YES Network.

As life goes, sometimes it’s not your day. That wound up to be the case in the tilt between the O’s and Yankees as Baltimore would blank New York 5-0 a game where the bats for the home team were mostly silent. Threatening situations hardly posed themselves and hurler Kevin Gausman held the Bombers in check for the almost the entirety of his outing. Seven hits, only one for extra bases, were dished out by the Yankee offense but they failed to capitalize on any of them and string together any semblance of an offense worthy of crossing home plate. Gausman struck out nine Yankee batters he faced in the encounter.

CC Sabathia pitched well in a losing effort that can be mostly pinned on the lack of run support he received from his offense. Sabathia allowed three runs over 6.2 innings, striking out eight and issuing just two free passes. A quality outing like this on any other day would probably grant Sabathia another check in the win column, but today just was not the Yankees’ day. Youngster Ben Heller was given an unceremonious welcome to the big leagues in his first-ever appearance as he allowed two runs and three hits in just 0.2 innings, coming from the 40th home run of the season for Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo. Steve Pearce also clubbed a home run in the game two innings before against Sabathia.

The timing of the loss is a bit of a stunner as the Yankees had plenty of opportunities to take another leap in the AL East standings as well as the Wild Card standings with teams above them not playing very consistently. Unfortunately for the Bombers, that opportunity slipped by the wayside which has become an all-too familiar feeling for them as they now sit at 67-62 on the year.

The Play: Pearce-ing into the lead (WPA +.164)

While the two-run single by Steve Pearce later provided a bigger bump in WPA (no video could be found of that base knock) this home run by Pearce made a major impact on the game as well. With the bats held in check, the Orioles offense was able to get on the board first and never would relinquish the lead after this solo blast.

Notes

– In what is a more than troubling trend, the Yankees are now 0-7 in their last seven series when seeking a sweep. Prior to the conclusion of the game, per Michael Kay, they were 0-6 in those games in either 3- or 4-game series. Closing the deal is proving to be a major issue for New York and if they want to be in playoff position, they have to correct it soon.

– The hot-hitting Gary Sanchez kept up his stellar play with a 2-for-4 day at the plate with his eighth double of the year being recorded. Sanchez is now slashing a ridiculous .405/.468/.893 in his short time in the big leagues and was the lone Yankee to record a multi-hit day at the plate.

– Mark Trumbo’s 40th home run of the season continued to maintain his lead in the category in MLB and he’s the first on the year to hit the 40-homer plateau.

– Manny Machado had a stellar day at the plate as well as he went 3-for-4.

The Highlight: CC snares a comebacker

One of the lone highlights of the day for the Yankees was this play by their veteran left-hander, who put some great hand-eye coordination on display. Pearce and Manny Machado tagged up to also make quite a play in the game as well, as Machado robbed Gary Sanchez of reaching third base with a stellar tag.

Up Next

After a brief three-game series at home, the Yankees will trek to face the red-hot Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in KC for a three-game series starting Monday. Michael Pineda (6-10, 5.02 ERA) will be on the hill for the Yankees while Dillon Gee (5-7, 4.55 ERA) will oppose him.

Photo: Brad Penner/USA Today Sports; Videos: MLBAM

By night’s end and at the conclusion of the 14-4 victory for the Yankees, each man in pinstripes who stepped up to bat had collected at least one base hit. Some recorded two, others even had three. The star of the show was again the incomparable Gary Sanchez whose streak of success stretched through the final day of the work week. Sanchez hit yet another home run on Friday night, his tenth of the season in merely his 85th plate appearance. Sanchez collected a double as well – the seventh of his short campaign – and saw his slash line rise to a ridiculous .403/.459/.883.

Mark Teixeira and Chase Headley each collected longballs as well on Friday night. The three home runs slugged by the Yankees were matched with three doubles as they recorded six extra base hits against the Orioles in the rout. Ronald Torreyes and Aaron Judge were the ones to dish out the two-baggers along with the aforementioned Sanchez, as the latter’s successes in the big leagues also stretched through Friday night’s affair.

It wasn’t all just about the bats on Friday night. The usually potent Orioles offense was held in check by Luis Cessa who allowed just three runs to pass in six innings of work. Cessa threw five strikeouts and issued only one free pass and had five hits scattered around the outing. The lone problem for Cessa was the outstanding Manny Machado who took him deep not once but twice, and was the lone source of offense for Baltimore. The bullpen blanked the adversary in the final three frames, making Cessa the pitcher of record in the outing.

The Play: A Priority Tex Message (+.198 WPA)

Tex’s two-run home run in the first inning wound up swinging things in the Yankees’ favor big time. The eleventh homer of the season for the veteran first baseman proved to be quite the blast by the time that it landed, and although it came in the first inning, it wound up being perhaps the most impactful play of the entire game.

Notes

– Per Yankees PR, Gary Sanchez became the first Yankee rookie to ever hit 10 home runs in a single month, and also became the third player in MLB history to have 10 home runs in his first 22 career games.

– Mark Teixeira’s home run made some history as he tied Bill Dickey on the Yankees’ all-time home run list, as he hit his 202nd home run of his Yankee career.

– Orioles outfielder Adam Jones left the game early with a hamstring strain, which could change the complexion of this entire weekend set if he is held out of Saturday and/or Sunday’s games.

The Highlight: Torreyes with the barehand

Luis Cessa made a similarly great play later on int he game but Ronald Torreyes’ barehanded snag-and-throw in the first inning was rather spectacular. That’s certainly one way to make an impact in the field, eh?

Up Next

The Yankees will look for the series win on Saturday as Chad Green (2-3, 3.66 ERA) will be on the bump for the Bombers. Dylan Bundy (7-4, 3.33 ERA) will oppose him. The game will be televised on YES Network and MLB Network in out-of-market areas.

Photo: Andy Marlin/USA Today Sports

Two stories unearthed themselves on Friday night in Orange County in the 7-0 victory for the Yankees. The first was the long ball, which was utilized early and often by the Bombers to put runs on the board. By early, we mean really early as outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury led off the game with a home run, the first of that kind all season for the Yankees. The Yankees would club four long balls with none being more unlikely than the second one to take flight on the night. Ronald Torreyes smacked his first-career home run in the top of the fifth off veteran hurler Jered Weaver. Torreyes entered the night slugging just .308 in 84 plate appearances and by night’s end popped it up to .390 after a 4-for-4 night at the plate that included the long ball, two singles and a double.

The other two homers would be served up to Didi Gregorius and Brian McCann. The Yankees used the long ball effectively but also amassed four doubles on the night with two coming from the hot-hitting Baby Bomber Gary Sanchez who already has five in his short time up in the bigs. Gregorius and the aforementioned Torreyes were the others to hit two-baggers, as the seven extra base hits made up for nearly half of the 15 hits that the Yankees tagged against the Angels in the victory.

The second story coming out of this one was the performance of Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka had proven himself to be the ace of the staff over the course of the season but Friday night’s outing may have been the best he’s spun all season. Tanaka cruised with brilliant efficiency against the Angels lineup, putting them on their heels and allowed not a single extra base hit all night. He fanned nine batters in his 7.2 innings of work and threw merely 100 pitches.

Friday night certainly could not have gone better for the Yankees, who improve to 62-59.

The Play: Ellsbury kickstarts the game (WPA+ .105)

There’s nothing quite like starting the game with a jolt, and that’s what Jacoby Ellsbury did when he took Jered Weaver deep on the third pitch of the ball game. As fate would have it, no play would be more impactful than Ellsbury’s leadoff homer, and sometimes, that’s just the way it goes. When it happens to you, you know things are going right.

Notes

– Via Katie Sharp, Tanaka made history after completing the outing:

Masahiro Tanaka is 1st Yankee pitcher in last 100 yrs with 3 straight games of 8+ K and 0 BB

— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) August 20, 2016

Given how many great pitchers the Yankees have possessed over the years, that’s quite the accomplishment.

– Another factoid from Sharp:

Masahiro Tanaka: 3rd scoreless start of 7.2+ IP this season.

Only other AL pitcher to do that is Michael Fulmer.

— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) August 20, 2016

Indeed, Tanaka’s performance is worthy of great praise, especially when you are only grouped with one starting pitcher in the entire American League.

– Five Yankees had multi-hit games on Friday night vs. the Angels with three knocking three hits or more.

– The Yankees went 3-for-7 with RISP and picked up three 2-out RBI, dished out by McCann, Gregorius and Torreyes.

The Highlight: Torre-yes, yes yes!

The first home run tagged by Torreyes in his career kept the Yankees in the driver’s seat and sent some shockwaves of the pleasant variety around the team and the fanbase. It was certainly a career night for the youngster, and you’d be crazy not to tip your cap to him. Have a day, Torreyes.

Up Next

The Yankees stint in SoCal continues with another late night game on Saturday night. On the mound for the Bombers will be Luis Cessa (2-0, 5.30 ERA) and he will be opposed by Ricky Nolasco (4-10, 5.13 ERA). You can find the game on PIX 11 in the NY Metro Area and out-of-market viewers will be able to watch the game on MLB Network.

Photo: Kelvin Kuo/USA Today Sports; Video: MLBAM

The hurler has partially torn his UCL and completely torn his flexor tendon, he told reporters on Tuesday.

Nathan Eovaldi's flexor tendon was torn clear off the bone.

— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) August 16, 2016

Nathan Eovaldi will almost certainly miss all of 2017.

— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) August 16, 2016

Eovaldi will finish the season with a 4.76 ERA in 21 starts and three relief appearances, averaging seven strikeouts per nine innings.

The last tweet written by Diamond in that sequence is perhaps what’s most concerning for Eovaldi. The veteran right-hander was due to be a free agent at the conclusion of the 2017 season, this after being arbitration eligible at the conclusion of the 2016 campaign. As Diamond speculated, what’s likely next for Eovaldi is to be non-tendered following a lengthy rehabilitation process. He’ll likely lose out on a payday as a result.

What this means for the Yankees going forward is they are due to be without Eovaldi’s presence in the bullpen and the rotation. After an up-and-down season Eovaldi provided help as a reliever, and began to find his way as a starter until his recent injury came up.

The season started off promisingly for Eovaldi after having a terrific first month. Perhaps that’s why this news appears so deflating for him as he continues to try and figure it out. Whether he has thrown his last pitch in pinstripes is in question, but it appears likely unless Brian Cashman and the Yankees brass decide to take another chance on him.

Photo: Kim Klement / USA Today Sports

The hot Yankee bats, which had fueled the two victories the Yankees captured on Friday and Saturday against the Rays, were cooled off by Jake Odorizzi. The right-hander allowed just three runs through six innings of work and struck out six batters he faced. Although he allowed two home runs, five hits and a walk, his offense dealt a tonnage of damage to Luis Severino who was tagged as the pitcher of record and allowed seven earned runs to cross. Luis Cessa didn’t fare much better and while he cooled off before exiting the game, he allowed five runs in his three innings of mop-up duty.

The Rays were mostly driven by the play of Logan Forsythe who went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run in the third inning. Nick Franklin and Corey Dickerson each had dingers as well with Dickerson’s being of the three-run variety. Evan Longoria added to the damage with a 3-for-4 day at the plate with two doubles and four RBI as he caps off a brilliant weekend series at the plate in which he went 7-for-11.

Baby Bombers Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge each went deep off of Jake Odorizzi, but those were merely the only runs that the Yankees could plate home on Sunday afternoon.

The Play: Dickerson breaks the game open (+.159 WPA)

It was a tough day at the office for Luis Severino and this three-run blast by Corey Dickerson was perhaps the toughest moment of the game for the young right-handed hurler. Dickerson’s padding of the lead what the Rays needed to put themselves in position to win and by day’s end, that’s exactly what happened.

Notes

– Starlin Castro may have went 1-for-4, but Castro was awfully hot during the series against the Rays. The Yankees’ second baseman hit .416 (5-12) during the weekend set against the AL East rival Rays, and will look to keep that stretch going heading into the week.

– No Yankee was able to record a multi-hit game. Although they scooped up seven hits on the day, they were each collected by seven different hitters.

– Luis Severino’s ERA now has skyrocketed up to 7.19 after the short outing on Sunday. The glass-half full approach will have you saying he did strike out seven batters in the outing, but clearly more mending needs to be done going forward. He was optioned to Triple-A following the game.

The Highlight: Judge socks another one 

Although it was a rough go on Sunday, the Yankees can take solace in the fact that their young slugger went deep yet again. It wasn’t quite the moonshot that he delivered on Saturday, but they all count the same as Judge has two homers in two days. Solid pace, we’d say.

Up Next

Before their trip out west, the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays in the final series of their six-game homestand. The Jays will send RA Dickey (8-12, 4.61 ERA) out on the mound while we await the naming of a starter for the Yankees in the series opener.

Photo: Bill Streicher / USA Today Sports