W2W4: Los Angeles Angels vs New York Yankees

losangeles.cbslocal.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

W2W4: Los Angeles Angels vs New York Yankees

August 12-15^th

The New York Yankees will be continuing their home-stand after an impressive series win against the then red hot Detroit Tigers, and now after taking two out of three games against them, the Yankees will be hosting the Los Angeles Angels, who will be coming into the Bronx 10 games under .500.

- Pitching Match-Ups

The four-game series will kick off with the pitching match-up of Hiroki Kuroda (10-7, 2.45) will be facing Garrett Richards (3-4, 4.20), which on paper looks to be a great chance for the Yankees to win. In Game 2 it is undecided right now who will be getting the ball for the Angels, but for the Yankees it will be C.C. Sabathia (9-10, 4.73), who looked better in his last start against the Chicago White Sox. Game 3 is probably the best match-up of the series, as Ivan Nova (5-4, 2.93) will be facing Jered Weaver (7-5, 2.87). In the finale of the series the Angels will send C.J. Wilson (12-6, 3.49) to the mound against the struggling Phil Hughes (4-11, 4.99).

- Wild Card

Winning the series against the Tigers seemed to keep the Yankees playoff hopes alive, as after the inexcusible sweep against the White Sox, the Yankees needed to win the series at home against Detroit. New York is now (59-57) entering this series with the Angels, which is also a must win series for them, as they are seven games behind both Wild Card spots. The main problem for the Yankees is the amount of teams ahead of them for the two spots, Tampa Bay, Oakland, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Baltimore all have better records right now, so avoid let downs against bad teams like the Angels is of the utmost importance.

- Human After All

The great Mariano Rivera looked human this past week, in which was probably the worst of his great career, as he blew three straight save chances. On August 7^th, Rivera blew the save in Chicago, which was hes third of the season. This past weekend Rivera would blow two more saves, as he allowed three home runs, two of which were to Miguel Cabrera, but the Yankees did end up winning those to games. In the past week Rivera saw his ERA go from a 1.70 to a 2.44, and he will surely be looking to get back on track against the Angels at some point in the series.