New York Vs. Detroit
One of the major question marks for the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers involves their rotations after their aces. Next in line for both clubs are former teammates looking to prove themselves.
New York's A.J. Burnett and Detroit's Brad Penny meet Saturday when the Yankees try to win consecutive games to start a season for the first time since 2005.
Each club got a quality six-inning effort from its ace on opening day, although neither got a decision in New York's 6-3 victory Thursday. CC Sabathia allowed three runs and struck out seven for the Yankees and Justin Verlander yielded three runs and struck out eight for the Tigers.
Those kind of outings are expected from Sabathia and Verlander. It's difficult to know what to expect from Burnett and Penny, teammates with Florida from 2000-04.
Burnett turned in the worst season of his 12-year career in 2010, going 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA. He also had two cut hands thanks to an angry clubhouse outburst after a poor start in July and a mysterious black eye in September.
The right-hander claimed the absence of pitching coach Dave Eiland for part of last season was one reason for his struggles. Burnett met with new pitching coach Larry Rothschild this winter for two days.
Whether Burnett bounces back is a major issue for New York.
"For A.J., ... he understands his responsibility, and I think A.J. went through the winter, started making changes and understood how important he is to this team," manager Joe Girardi told the Yankees' official website.
Burnett is 3-1 with a 7.34 ERA in six career starts against Detroit.
Penny, meanwhile, signed a one-year deal with the Tigers in the offseason. He went 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA in nine starts for St. Louis in 2010 before being sidelined with a back injury.
The veteran right-hander went 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA in six spring starts for Detroit, and insists he is healthy. His only previous time in the AL came when he posted a 5.61 ERA in 24 starts with Boston in 2009.
Penny, who beat the Yankees twice in the 2003 World Series, is 1-1 with a 6.60 ERA in three career regular-season outings against them. He has never pitched at the new Yankee Stadium.
If Saturday's game comes down to the bullpens, the Yankees probably have the edge. Joba Chamberlain, newcomer Rafael Soriano and closer Mariano Rivera each worked a perfect inning Thursday.
"We talked about our bullpen could play a huge role for us this year and it did (Thursday)," Girardi said. "You get three scoreless innings out of them, starting with Joba, Soriano and Rivera. And we're going to need that."
The Tigers' relievers didn't fare as well, allowing three runs over two innings. Former Detroit outfielder Curtis Granderson hit a go-ahead home run off former Yankee Phil Coke in the seventh on a dreary, 42-degree day.
"Their bullpen and the long ball is what did us in," manager Jim Leyland said. "I thought it was actually a decent game for the conditions. It was pretty rough."
Mark Teixeira hit a three-run homer off Verlander. He was happy for the strong start to 2011 since he's a career .237 hitter in April who began 2010 in a 3-for-36 rut.
"I've been petitioning the league to start in March for years," Teixeira said. "Finally they let us start in March because everybody knows my Aprils. It's great to start this way."
Detroit star Miguel Cabrera began to move past his rocky offseason by going 1 for 2 and scoring two runs. He's a career .388 hitter in the Bronx, hitting safely in 13 of 14 games with six homers and 13 RBIs.
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