Game Thread 09/26/07; New York (91-67) at DEVIL RAYS (65-93)

New York at RAYS
7:10; FSN Florida
RAYS RADIO/WHNZ 1250 AM

PITCHING MATCHUP:

RH Phil Hughes, New York:

Overview: Yankees rookie Phil Hughes goes out to the hill this evening for New York, with the Yankees being virtually locked into their playoff position after last night's win over the Rays. Hughes, considered the top pitching prospect in the New York organization, has had his ups and downs in his rookie year for the Yankees. He was sidelined for three months after his initial call-up due to injury, and has gotten nearly all of his playing time since his second stint with the ballclub began on August 4th. He has been very solid for New York down the stretch, as his peripherals speak of no real standout issue with his performance. Even still, his ERA stands at 4.80 and despite the fact that he has been lights-out against right-handed batters, opposing lefties have lit him up to the tune of .269/.360/.487 in 119 at bats. He tends to get off to slow starts at the beginning of games before settling in after about the first inning or two. Thus it is imperative for the Rays to strike against him early and open up the possibility of getting into the weak New York bullpen later in the ballgame.

Recent Starts: After bottoming out in a 9-1 loss against Tampa Bay on August 31st, Hughes has been a whole new pitcher in the month of September as the Yankees solidified their playoff position. Over his last four starts, Hughes has pitched to a 3.18 ERA over 22.2 innings of work, holding opposing batters to a line of .241/.313/.356. That is especially encouraging for the Yankees, who were counting on Hughes to provide a valuable presence in the starting rotation down the stretch. That a young pitcher like him could pitch so well in such crucial games is a definite positive as the Yankees evaluate him going forward. The Yankees' righty faced three divisional opponents in that stretch this month as well as the wild card contending Seattle Mariners during a crucial series that really made New York's wild card lead solid for the first time all season. Last time out however, Hughes did not pitch up to expectation in giving up three runs in five innings against Toronto.

vs RAYS: Hughes has faced the Rays once this season, and the result was not pretty. Opposite Andy Sonnanstine, Hughes took the loss in a 9-1 Devil Rays win after giving up five runs, four earned, in 4.1 innings of work, walking four and giving up seven hits. This one start against the Rays has been succeeded by the string of four excellent starts mentioned above; Hughes has no other experience against the major league Rays. No Rays player has more than three plate appearances against Hughes stemming from that one start, though the lineup that day hit 8 for 17 off of him. Akinori Iwamura doubled off of him, while Carlos Peña homered and drew two walks against the Yankee right-hander.

LH Scott Kazmir, RAYS:

Overview: Scott Kazmir closes up his season at home this evening against the Yankees, and looks to put the cherry on top of another impressive campaign. Although he was statistically stronger last season, the caveat there is that he has pitched 55 more innings this season than last. He still has bouts of control issues, and he has had trouble with his pitch counts at times this season, but he has really rebounded after struggling a little bit early. He has been a fairly even player across the board with no extreme splits present. His turnaround since the All-Star Break is absolutely incredible, and that is the exact time period in which it has occurred, as his ERA has lowered drastically thanks to a 2.45 mark since the midsummer classic. One year after being chosen for the game, Kazmir had been very disappointing to that point. He carried a 4.41 ERA in tow and struggled to make it deep into ballgames. This was especially a poor quality given the state of the Rays' bullpen. But since then Kazmir has been lights out, striking out 114 in 88.1 innings of work while walking just 31. Opponents have been shut down to the tune of a .227/.299/.334 line. His post ASB performance is very similar to his performance following the 2005 All-Star break, let's just hope that this change is permanent. For the immediate, Kazmir can virtually lock up the AL strikeout title with seven in tonight's game. By reaching this total he would surpass Johan Santana, who started his final game of the season last night.

Recent Starts: Kazmir wasn't exactly up to his second half par of excellence last time out on Friday night against Boston, surrendering three runs (two earned) in five innings against the Red Sox. It was the stereotypical Kazmir start for the first time in quite a while. He had 91 pitches in five innings, he walked four batters and he struck out nine. This was a stark change from his two starts before that, in which Kazmir failed to surrender an earned run on the Rays' 10 day, 10 game road trip. He surrendered but an unearned run in two starts against Boston and Seattle. He carries a 2.16 September ERA into tonight's game against the New York.

vs NYY: Kazmir has had a good amount of success in his career against the Yankees, as he has a 3.20 ERA in 45 innings of work all-time against the Bronx Bombers. This will be Kazmir's fourth start against New York this season; he has a 3.06 ERA to show for his efforts. The first of those efforts was his terrible season opening effort, when he surrendered five runs in five innings in Tampa Bay's season opening loss in the Bronx. Since then he has given up just one earned run in 12.2 innings of work. The Yankees actually touched off Kazmir's second half rebound when he gave up an unearned run over six innings against New York on July the 13th at Tropicana Field. He has not faced New York since then. Among Yankee hitters, few have any real success against the Rays' lefty ace, though Jorge Posada is hitting .471/.500/.765 against them in 17 at bats. Álex Rodríguez is a mere 2 for 18 off of Kazmir, though he has drawn four walks, while Derek Jeter is 2 for 20 with a home run against the southpaw.

STARTING LINEUPS:

[editor's note, by Patrick L. Kennedy]: This should please R.J.:

GO RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!