Rangers favored in Game 3 behind Cliff Lee
Neither the Texas Rangers nor the New York Yankees can be too happy with the position they are in heading into Monday night’s ALCS Game 3 matchup at Yankee Stadium.
Except for one bad inning, the Rangers have out-played the Yankees yet could only manage a split in two home games.
The Yankees were hoping to have a 2-0 lead facing Cliff Lee instead of being tied 1-1 after losing Game 2. That loss ended New York’s 10-game postseason winning streak versus the Rangers.
Now the Yankees have to deal with Lee, who has been dominating during playoff competition.
The 32-year-old left-hander beat Tampa Bay twice – both by 5-1 scores – during Texas’ first-round series. Lee held the Rays to a combined two earned runs in 16 hits giving up 11 hits with 21 strikeouts and zero walks.
Lee was 4-0 last year in the postseason for the Philadelphia Phillies. He beat the Yankees 6-1 in Game 1 of last year’s World Series not allowing an earned run. He also won Game 5 against New York.
In eight starts against the Yankees, including postseason, Lee is 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA. So it’s not a huge surprise that Lee opened a 115 road favorite against Andy Pettitte with the ‘over/under’ at 7 ½.
This is the first time New York is an MLB money line ‘dog in the postseason. The Yankees have failed to win the past five times they’ve been underdogs since Sept. 15. They are 1-8 the last nine times they haven’t been favored.
Pettitte was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA during the regular season. The 38-year-old southpaw missed two months due to a groin injury, being sidelined from July 19 to Sept. 19.
He pitched seven strong innings to help New York to a 5-2 victory against Minnesota during its three-game sweep of the Twins in the first-round. This was a huge outing for Pettitte since he hadn’t gone more than four innings since coming off the disabled list.
Pettitte threw 88 pitches against the Twins, while giving up five hits and one walk with four strikeouts. Pettitte did have better numbers on the road, though, going 5-0 with a 2.56 ERA compared to 7-3 at Yankee Stadium with a 3.89 ERA. He also is 4-6 at night with a 4.03 ERA, while during the day he was 8-0 with a 2.64 ERA. Game time is 5 p.m. (PT) with TBS televising.
Lee was 12-9 with a 3.18 EA during the regular season splitting time between Seattle and Texas. He led the league in WHIP with a 1.00 mark concluding the regular season with a phenomenal 185 strikeouts and only 18 walks. Factoring in his two playoff starts against Tampa Bay and Lee’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is a mind-boggling 206-to-18.
"Cliff Lee doesn't beat himself. And he's going to throw a lot of strikes," Yankees manager Joe Girardi was quoted as saying. "The guy that's getting lost in this is Andy Pettitte, and he's pretty good."
Pettitte, of course, is backed by closer Mariano Rivera, who holds the major league record of 42 postseason saves, including one in the Yankees’ 6-5 Game 1 victory this past Friday night.
Lee figures to get tested by Derek Jeter, who has reached base safely in 12 consecutive postseason games, including 22 of his past 23 playoff games.
The ‘over’ is 6-2-1 in the Yankees’ last nine games. The ‘under’ has cashed the past four times Lee has taken the mound.
The weather report for Monday night’s game is cloudy with temperatures in the 50s and a six mph wind blowing west.
Neither the Texas Rangers nor the New York Yankees can be too happy with the position they are in heading into Monday night’s ALCS Game 3 matchup at Yankee Stadium.
Except for one bad inning, the Rangers have out-played the Yankees yet could only manage a split in two home games.
The Yankees were hoping to have a 2-0 lead facing Cliff Lee instead of being tied 1-1 after losing Game 2. That loss ended New York’s 10-game postseason winning streak versus the Rangers.
Now the Yankees have to deal with Lee, who has been dominating during playoff competition.
The 32-year-old left-hander beat Tampa Bay twice – both by 5-1 scores – during Texas’ first-round series. Lee held the Rays to a combined two earned runs in 16 hits giving up 11 hits with 21 strikeouts and zero walks.
Lee was 4-0 last year in the postseason for the Philadelphia Phillies. He beat the Yankees 6-1 in Game 1 of last year’s World Series not allowing an earned run. He also won Game 5 against New York.
In eight starts against the Yankees, including postseason, Lee is 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA. So it’s not a huge surprise that Lee opened a 115 road favorite against Andy Pettitte with the ‘over/under’ at 7 ½.
This is the first time New York is an MLB money line ‘dog in the postseason. The Yankees have failed to win the past five times they’ve been underdogs since Sept. 15. They are 1-8 the last nine times they haven’t been favored.
Pettitte was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA during the regular season. The 38-year-old southpaw missed two months due to a groin injury, being sidelined from July 19 to Sept. 19.
He pitched seven strong innings to help New York to a 5-2 victory against Minnesota during its three-game sweep of the Twins in the first-round. This was a huge outing for Pettitte since he hadn’t gone more than four innings since coming off the disabled list.
Pettitte threw 88 pitches against the Twins, while giving up five hits and one walk with four strikeouts. Pettitte did have better numbers on the road, though, going 5-0 with a 2.56 ERA compared to 7-3 at Yankee Stadium with a 3.89 ERA. He also is 4-6 at night with a 4.03 ERA, while during the day he was 8-0 with a 2.64 ERA. Game time is 5 p.m. (PT) with TBS televising.
Lee was 12-9 with a 3.18 EA during the regular season splitting time between Seattle and Texas. He led the league in WHIP with a 1.00 mark concluding the regular season with a phenomenal 185 strikeouts and only 18 walks. Factoring in his two playoff starts against Tampa Bay and Lee’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is a mind-boggling 206-to-18.
"Cliff Lee doesn't beat himself. And he's going to throw a lot of strikes," Yankees manager Joe Girardi was quoted as saying. "The guy that's getting lost in this is Andy Pettitte, and he's pretty good."
Pettitte, of course, is backed by closer Mariano Rivera, who holds the major league record of 42 postseason saves, including one in the Yankees’ 6-5 Game 1 victory this past Friday night.
Lee figures to get tested by Derek Jeter, who has reached base safely in 12 consecutive postseason games, including 22 of his past 23 playoff games.
The ‘over’ is 6-2-1 in the Yankees’ last nine games. The ‘under’ has cashed the past four times Lee has taken the mound.
The weather report for Monday night’s game is cloudy with temperatures in the 50s and a six mph wind blowing west.
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