Rainout Ruins Tanaka-Iwakuma Matchup, Gives Yankees' Bats Extra Day
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Manager Joe Girardi has some extra time to contemplate ways to ignite the Yankees' lineup.
New York's game Monday night against the Kansas City Royals was postponed about two hours before the scheduled first pitch because of rain. The game will be made up on Aug. 25 at a time to be determined.
Now, the Bronx Bombers will take their slingshot offense to Seattle and Oakland to continue what has already been a disappointing trip. The Yankees won the opener against Kansas City 4-2, but then struggled again to score runs in an 8-4 loss on Saturday and a 2-1 defeat Sunday.
"The one thing you can't do is you can't necessarily change everything," Girardi said. "You look at what guys have done in the past, you look at what guys are doing this year, and you try to piece together what you feel is the best lineup every day.
"We've struggled the last three or four weeks scoring runs. We know we need to score more," he continued, "but guys are going through a time. You just have to ride it out a little bit."
The Yankees, in the bottom half of the league in several offensive categories, have failed to score more than four runs each of their past 10 games, winning just three times in that stretch.
"You are usually not as bad as you look when things are going bad," said Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who was 0 for 4 on Sunday. "It's like you're usually not as good as you look when things are going good. But we've got to turn it around."
Dazzling import Masahiro Tanaka flew ahead to Seattle in anticipation of starting Tuesday, but Girardi said he plans to push everybody in his rotation back a day. That means left-hander Vidal Nuno will start the opener against the Mariners and Tanaka will pitch Wednesday.
The rainout ruined what was anticipated to be a marquee pitching matchup. Tanaka had said he was "very much looking forward to" facing former Rakuten teammate Hisashi Iwakuma.
"It gives all our guys and extra day," Girardi said. "We're in a long stretch, so that can be good."
NOTES: Girardi had planned to give CF Jacoby Ellsbury the day off after he reported some soreness in his hip. But the manager expected Ellsbury to play in Seattle. "We're not concerned about it," Girardi said. ... Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira was penciled into the lineup before the rainout. He was held out of the lineup Sunday because of a sore wrist but pinch hit in the ninth inning.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
