Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Houston Astros 6/27

You know what the best part about afternoon games for the New York Yankees is? I have an excuse not to be outside cutting the grass or working on my honey-do list during the hottest part of the day, thank you MLB schedulers! Anyway I just had to get that out, this afternoon the Yankees and the Astros will face off for the third time in this four game weekend series inside Minute Maid Park. The Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound, Happy Tanaka Day by the way, to face off against LHP Brett Oberholtzer of the Astros. The game will be played at 4:10 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees and Astros have one more game in Houston before the Yankees start playing those middle of the damn night games again on the west coast. With the Yankees in Anaheim taking on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim you should have plenty of time during your day to jump on the blog, click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and order some Yankees tickets for when the team returns home to the Bronx. If you can’t make it live then that’s not a problem, simply jump on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) and/or the comments section of the site to interact with us during each and every Yankees game.

I really don’t look forward to tweeting out the word “Oberholtzer” many times this afternoon so let’s hope the Yankees bomb him and make quick work of him. Go Yankees!

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Houston Astros 6/27

The New York Yankees and the Houston Astros will go at it again head-to-head this afternoon inside Minute Maid Park for the third time in this four game weekend set. The last time the Yankees faced a left handed Astros pitcher, Dallas Keuchel on Thursday night, they struck out 12 times and were shutout in a 4-0 so let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself this afternoon in Houston. Today the Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound looking to rebound from a tough start last time out and he will be opposed by Brett Oberholtzer for Houston. The game will be played at 4:10 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

• Tanaka is coming off a start in which he allowed seven runs in five innings to the Detroit Tigers after returning to his dominant form in his two starts prior. Tanaka has been dominant since his return off the DL with wrist tendinitis and a forearm strain and looks to return to that form tonight in Houston.

• Oberholtzer has made six starts this season and pitched well in every single one of them, a trend the Yankees looks to turn around tonight in Houston. Oberholtzer has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of those six starts and has allowed only one home run all season long.

The Yankees play a mid-afternoon game today inside Minute Maid Park and an afternoon game tomorrow before heading out West to face off with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Yankees don’t want to start this road trip off by losing a series so a win this afternoon can go a long, long way. Go Yankees!

Yankees Waste Big Hits from McCann and Prado in Opener Loss to Astros

Brian McCann made it 2-0 with an early two-run home run and Martin Prado tied the score in the sixth with a big two-run double, but since Chris Capuano only lasted 5 1/3 innings and David Robertson had one of his rare bad outings in the ninth the Yankees fell to the Astros, 7-4, Tuesday night in the Bronx.

Now for the first five frames in his start yesterday, interestingly, Capuano actually looked pretty good, allowing just one trip around the bases to keep that homer by McCann meaningful. 

Nonetheless, in the top of the sixth the veteran randomly collapsed, surrendering three more on three hits to cost New York their lead.

Yes, in the bottom of that at-bat Prado would even things up with the aforementioned double off Brett Oberholtzer (5 1/3 IP, 4 ER), but due to David Robertson's collapse in which two men reached and Chris Carter homered on a 3-0 pitch those struggles of Capuano definitely had a huge effect on how this one played out, as they forced a worn out bullpen to pick up the slack again.

No, this loss doesn't completely fall on Capuano, but still, he undeniably had a big part in it, the second time that's happened in the last 8 days.

Nick's Picks 2.0: Astros VS Yankees

So, I have returned after a short hiatus. I, like most people, am hugely superstitious and with the former streak which shall not be named I have also decided to shut it down. My picks were doing nothing but bringing constant dismay to readers and myself, so mostly myself. After finishing up the Rays series with two victories and a home series with the Astros, what better way to come back strong. Mixing it up a bit I have decided to highlight my picks in a different way. We need this series, we need the rest of this month, but most of all we need our Yankees to play like they are capable of playing. The time is now, and what better way to start it off with a strong win tonight and some losses by the ones ahead of us. The Yankees send Chris Capuano to the hill to face off against Mr. Alphabet himself, Brett Oberholtzer. Let the picking commence!

Break-out hitter: Brain McCann is going to do some damage tonight. This guy is due to get some runs in and show that no one in this lineup is giving up. McCann is a lefty and the match-up seems destined for disaster but McCann is going to wreck it tonight. I predict him to go 2-4 since he is batting in the seventh spot, and he will drive in two runs with a homerun. 

Pitching performance to watch: I want to say Capuano in this game because he will be masterful and keep us in the game, but I think we will see some serious work from the bullpen to close this out. As a whole the bullpen will finally string together a shut out effort with five strikeouts over the final three innings. 

Simply Clutch: The most clutch performer tonight will be Joe Girardi. Notice I said performer and not player because Girardi will make sure to mix and match the pen perfectly and bring home a win. With rest needed down the stretch look for him to wisely use people in this opener as Capuano goes six innings tonight. 

So for tonight I can predict a great start to this series. The Yankees need this series at this time, and with no room for error I am sure that the last two victories against the Rays will provide enough of a spark from here on out. Tonight I predict a Yankees victory by the score of 5-2. Let's go Yankees! Remember YCPB.