Marlins-Yankees Series Shifts To The Bronx
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
NEW YORK (CBSMiami/AP) – The Miami Marlins are back on the road after a very successful homestand.
A month that started so promisingly for the New York Yankees is turning sour.
Following their second lopsided defeat in five games, the Yankees try to avoid a third consecutive defeat to the visiting Marlins on Wednesday night.
New York (34-30) outscored opponents 43-18 during an eight-game winning streak to open June but since has endured a 42-19 disadvantage while going 1-5. The Yankees managed three runs and 10 hits while dropping the first two of this four-game home-and-home series with Miami (29-37).
"We have not pitched well. We haven't swung the bats," manager Joe Girardi said. "Hopefully going home will be good medicine for us."
Ex-Marlin Nathan Eovaldi gave up all of the franchise-record eight first-inning runs scored by the Marlins in Tuesday's 12-2 loss. It was the third time in five games the Yankees allowed nine or more runs and second in that span they lost by at least eight.
"It's a lot of fun when you're able to put together something like that," said Miami manager Dan Jennings, whose team outscored Colorado and New York 30-9 on a 5-1 homestand.
Yankees starters have posted a 9.14 ERA in the last five, a stretch that began with Friday's outing by Michael Pineda (7-3, 3.74 ERA), who allowed six runs in 4 1-3 innings of an 11-3 loss at Baltimore. The right-hander gave up three runs over 12 2-3 innings to win his previous two outings.
Pineda pitched on 10 days' rest after his turn was skipped as the team remained careful with an arm that's totaled 74 2-3 innings and averaged almost 98 pitches in 12 starts. He pitched 76 1-3 innings over 13 starts in a 2014 season in which he missed more than three months with a shoulder issue.
"They're trying to take care of me and give me a little rest," Pineda told MLB's official website. "What happened (Friday), it happens to everybody. I'm trying to keep my head up and just continue working."
He'll get his first look at Giancarlo Stanton, who hit a three-run shot for his major league-leading 24th homer Tuesday. Batting .404 with nine homers and 18 RBIs in his last 14 contests, Stanton is eager to make his first appearance at Yankee Stadium.
"That'll be cool - just the tradition they have there, the whole aura, the whole New York atmosphere," said Stanton, who is likely to serve as the designated hitter. "I'm sure I'll be yelled and screamed at. It'll be fun."
Jose Urena (1-2, 4.44) allowed eight runs over 10 2-3 innings to lose his first two career starts but has yielded one in each of his last two spanning 12 2-3 innings, going 1-0 while facing Colorado both times. The right-hander allowed six hits in 6 2-3 innings of Friday's 5-1 home victory.
Though star right-hander Jose Fernandez is expected to return from Tommy John surgery early next month and Jarred Cosart is nearing a return from a bout with vertigo, Urena's spot appears safe for now.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Jennings said. "Right now Urena is in that rotation, and somebody will have to knock him out. He has earned the right to get that opportunity every fifth day."
Ichiro Suzuki, 2 for 4 in the first two games, returns to Yankee Stadium where he hit .301 while playing the previous two-plus seasons with New York.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)