The Yankees travel north to face the Blue Jays for the first time this season and will encounter a power laden team that leads the league in HRs by 17. Ironically, it isn’t proven stars like Aaron Hill and Adam Lind who are leading the power surge, but journeymen like Jose Bautista and Alex Gonzalez.
Usually, it is the Yankees who dominate in the power department, but Cito Gaston’s HR happy Jays have turned the tables on the Bronx Bombers. Having said that, the Jays rank next to last in .OBP, which helps explain why the Yankees, who lead the league in getting on base, have still scored 24 more runs despite hitting almost 30 fewer long balls.
AJ Burnett will be charged with containing the Jays power, which based on early season statistics seems like a good choice. In over 70 innings, Burnett has only allowed four HRs, so the Yankees hope that bodes well for his performance. Similarly, Brett Cecil, a strike throwing lefty, seems to match up well against the Yankees patient approach. Styles often make the fight, and this matchup could be an example of that.
The Jays come into the game off of two straight losses to the Rays, both the result of blown saves in the ninth inning. The unexpected fourth horse in the race, the Jays need to bounce back against the Yankees if they hope to avoid falling further back in the division. It remains to be seen if the Jays are for real, but beating the Yankees this weekend would be a good place to start.
The Yankees meanwhile come off seven straight games against pretty awful teams, so the Jays represent a step up in class. In order to keep pace is a very tight divisional race, the Yankees need to keep winning series, and the best way to do that is by winning game one.
| vs. Brett Cecil | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | HR | RBI |
| Derek Jeter SS | 6 | 0.600 | 0.667 | 0.600 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Swisher RF | 6 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0 | 1 |
| Mark Teixeira 1B | 6 | 0.333 | 0.667 | 1.333 | 1 | 1 |
| Alex Rodriguez 3B | 3 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0 | 0 |
| Robinson Cano 2B | 6 | 0.800 | 0.833 | 1.400 | 1 | 1 |
| Jorge Posada DH | 6 | 0.600 | 0.667 | 0.600 | 0 | 2 |
| Marcus Thames LF | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Curtis Granderson CF | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Chad Moeller C | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 33 | 0.519 | 0.606 | 0.741 | 2 | 5 |
| vs. AJ Burnett | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | HR | RBI |
| Fred Lewis LF | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Hill 2B | 12 | 0.273 | 0.333 | 0.545 | 1 | 1 |
| Adam Lind DH | 10 | 0.250 | 0.400 | 0.250 | 0 | 0 |
| Vernon Wells CF | 10 | 0.333 | 0.400 | 0.778 | 1 | 1 |
| Jose Bautista RF | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Gonzalez SS | 6 | 0.167 | 0.167 | 0.667 | 1 | 1 |
| Lyle Overbay 1B | 18 | 0.059 | 0.111 | 0.118 | 0 | 0 |
| John Buck C | 12 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.833 | 2 | 4 |
| Edwin Encarnacion 3B | 3 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 71 | 0.212 | 0.268 | 0.485 | 5 | 7 |
| Yankees vs. Blue Jays | |||
| Season: 2010 | Season: 2009 | Season: 2008 | All-Time |
| TIED: 0-0 | NYY: 12-6 | TIED: 9-9 | NYY: 259-205 |
- Before the game, Joe Girardi announced that Dave Eiland had taken an indefinite leave of absence to deal with a “personal issue”. In his place, bullpen coach Mike Harkey will serve as the pitching coach.
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