Orioles-Yankees Series Preview

After being washed out twice in Cleveland after winning two in dominating fashion over the Indians, the Yanks return home for three games against red-hot Baltimore who took two of three from the Red Sox in Boston.  Here is a preview of the weekend series in the Bronx.

It will be interesting to see how the Yankee bats perform.  New York slugged eight homers inside 25 runs and collected 31 hits in two games against Cleveland.  But then the Yanks were rained out twice.  Will the offensive momentum continue or slow down with the time off?

Players to watch:  Robinson Cano and Manny Machado.  Cano went 7 for 10 with 3 HR and 7 RBI in two games against the Indians.  Machado hit a huge 3-run home run in the bottom of the 9th against Boston closer Joel Hanrahan to break a 5-5 tie in game two at Fenway Park.  Both are young (Machado is just 20), both are talented and both players are franchise cornerstones for the next five to 10 years.

Pitching match-ups:  Friday, CC Sabathia vs. Miguel Gonzalez.  Saturday, Hiroki Kuroda vs. Jason Hammel.  Sunday, Andy Pettitte vs. Wei-Yin Chen.

Prediction:  Yankees win two of three.  The reason is pitching.  You have to like Sabathia and 2-0 Andy Pettitte throwing in a three game series.