This afternoon, the Orioles lineup came out and it was the "face a lefty" lineup. David Phelps was the scheduled starter. Surprise! Now Saturday's starter, CC Sabathia, is starting today instead.
#Orioles lineup vs Sabathia: Markakis 9, Machado 5, Hardy 6, Jones 8, Davis 3, Wieters 2, Valencia DH, McLouth 7, Casilla 4, McFarland SP
— Brittany Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) June 28, 2013
Saturday's starter is listed as TBA, so there is probably some issue with Phelps. Hiroki Kuroda will still start Sunday's game.
Sabathia last pitched on Saturday, so this will not be a short rest start for him.
Remember how Alexi Casilla had weirdly good numbers against Justin Masterson? Well, he has weirdly good numbers against Sabathia, with a 1.222 OPS in 27 PA. That is a 15-27 with three doubles. J.J. Hardy is 11-32 with six doubles and a home run, which adds up to a .969 OPS. Adam Jones has three home runs in 59 PA.
NYY lineup vs O's: gardner 8 nix 6 cano 4 wells DH Suzuki 9 almonte 7 stewart 2 Adams 3 Gonzalez 5. Sabathia LHP
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) June 28, 2013
T.J. McFarland, making his first start, has seen Yankees batters a total of five times
Against left-handed pitching, the Yankees are batting .233/.306/.337 this season, which may be why McFarland is starting instead of Kevin Gausman. But still... it's T.J. McFarland.
Here's a little more about the Sabathia mystery:
According to Larry Rothschild, Sabathia was always supposed to pitch today. He gave the media relations department the wrong info.
— Mark Feinsand (@FeinsandNYDN) June 28, 2013
Rothschild is the Yankees pitching coach. He also said Phelps was always supposed to start Saturday. So it looks like there's nothing to see here, just two guys being swapped.
My friend and today's podcast guest, Tanya from Pinstriped Bible, informs me that CC hates starting on extra rest. If your $122 million man says he doesn't want an extra day of rest, you'd shift your rotation too.
Obligatory Brian Roberts rehab tweet:
Brian Roberts leading off and playing 2B for Norfolk tonight. Urrutia RF and batting third. #Orioles#tides
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) June 28, 2013
He is supposed to return for Sunday night's game.