JOSEPH D'AMICO
New York Yankees -164
New York is sitting in 2nd place in the A.L. East at 2½ games behind Tampa Bay. Most teams would be happy about that record at this stage in the season. But for New York, it is 1st place or nothing at all. After dropping Tuesday’s game to the Oriole’s 5-4, the Yankee’s came back yesterday and spanked the O’s 8-3. Today NY has AJ Burnett throwing. Burnett is 2-0 on the season, with an ERA of 3.20. In his career, the RH is 9-2 when starting against Baltimore. The Bronx Bomber’s have posted an average of 5.1 RPG in their L10 games. Their lineup has 5 slugger’s flirting with or hitting over .300 and 5 batter’s with between 13-15 RBI’s. They are absolutely crushing the ball. Their worst run output all season was 2 runs. Please take note that on-the-field leader and catcher Jorge Posada is most likely sitting with a contusion in his right knee form being struck at the plate the other day. New York faces a Baltimore squad with the worst record in baseball at 4-17 including a dismal 1-7 home record. The Oriole’s can’t hit and their pitching is certainly less than stellar. They have Brian Matusz on the mound. The left-hander is 0-0 with an ERA of 4.91 at home this season. Matusz is going to get shelled today. The Yankee’s are 21-6 their L27 over the Oriole’s, 5-1 their L6 in Baltimore, 41-13 their L54 games as a favorite, and 9-3 in Burnett’s L12 starts. The Oriole’s are 17-35 their L52 vs. teams with a winning percentage over .600, 14-38 their L52 overall, 14-40 their L54 vs. the A.L. East, and 1-4 their L5 at home vs. RH starters. Take New York.