The rivalry sets up tents in the Bronx for the first time this season, but injuries have taken center stage for the Yankees. Before the game, the Yankees confirmed that Nick Johnson would in deed have surgery on his injured left wrist, a decision that will cost the team their DH for at least the next two months. In addition, the Yankees will once again be without Nick Swisher, whose sore right biceps prevent him from swinging left handed, and Jorge Posada, who is battling a bruise on his right foot that resulted from a foul ball in yesterday’s game.
As a result of the barrage of bumps and bruises, the Yankees will once again feature an anemic bottom of the lineup. Normally, the Yankees patient and power laden lineup would be bad news for the deliberate Daisuke Matsuzaka. Tonight, however, Dice-K could benefit from the abundance of free swinging right handed hitters.
The reason Yankees has been able to overcome their many injuries is because of excellent starting pitching, exemplified tonight by Phil Hughes, who enters the game with a 5-0 record and the lowest ERA in the American League. With runs likely to be hard to come by for the Yankees, and a defense not exactly tailored toward run prevention, Hughes will need to be in top form if the Yankees are to continue their early season success against Boston.
With the injuries mounting and the Tampa Bay Rays playing well, these next two games against Boston will be vital. Not only do the Yankees need to immediately wash away the sour taste from Sunday’s shocking defeat, but they also need to keep creating space between themselves and the Red Sox. The Yankees will have their two best pitchers on the mound in the short two game series, so failing to capitalize could send the Yankees reeling into the next matchup against the first place Rays.
| vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | HR | RBI |
| Derek Jeter SS | 18 | 0.429 | 0.556 | 0.857 | 2 | 3 |
| Brett Gardner CF | 2 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Teixeira 1B | 7 | 0.400 | 0.571 | 0.800 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Rodriguez DH | 22 | 0.063 | 0.318 | 0.063 | 0 | 0 |
| Robinson Cano 2B | 20 | 0.211 | 0.250 | 0.421 | 1 | 1 |
| Francisco Cervelli C | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus Thames RF | 3 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 1.333 | 1 | 1 |
| Randy Winn LF | 3 | 0.000 | 0.333 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Ramiro Pena 3B | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 75 | 0.230 | 0.307 | 0.475 | 4 | 5 |
| vs. Phil Hughes | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | HR | RBI |
| Marco Scutaro SS | 13 | 0.250 | 0.308 | 0.250 | 0 | 0 |
| Dustin Pedroia 2B | 12 | 0.000 | 0.083 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| JD Drew RF | 10 | 0.667 | 0.800 | 1.167 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Youkilis 1B | 11 | 0.300 | 0.273 | 0.600 | 1 | 4 |
| Victor Martinez C | 5 | 0.600 | 0.600 | 0.800 | 0 | 0 |
| David Ortiz DH | 7 | 0.750 | 0.714 | 1.250 | 0 | 3 |
| Adrian Beltre 3B | 7 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremy Hermida LF | 3 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Darnell McDonald CF | 3 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 71 | 0.279 | 0.352 | 0.426 | 1 | 7 |
| Yankees vs. Red Sox | |||
| Season: 2010 | Season: 2009 | Season: 2008 | All-Time |
| NYY: 4-2 | TIED: 9-9 | TIED: 9-9 | NYY: 1121-935 |
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