News
Saunders to confront Tex, Bombers
Los Angeles (89-60) vs. New York (95-55), 7:05 p.m. PT
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
09/20/09 5:09 PM ET
ARLINGTON -- Joe Saunders, hoping his luck improves after it turned sour on him in Boston, returns home on Monday night to engage the Majors' most dynamic offense, while fellow southpaw Andy Pettitte tries to contain an Angels lineup striving to recapture the momentum it carried from June through August. The Yankees attack from all angles and directions, one through nine. The focus for Saunders, as always, will be on keeping the guys at the top of the order off base in front of the big bats in the heart of the order. When those first two hitters are Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon, the challenge intensifies. Jeter, one of several Most Valuable Player candidates in pinstripes, and Damon both have .500 career on-base percentages against Saunders. Jeter is batting .455 and Damon .400 against the lefty. "Joe had one tough inning [Wednesday] night in Boston," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We gave them five outs, and they got five runs [after Saunders had shut out the Red Sox for five innings]. "He's very focused. I think there's an intensity with Joe that doesn't manifest itself like with [John] Lackey or [Jered] Weaver. He competes, no question about that. And he's confident. There's a confidence about Joe whether he's in the dugout or on the mound." With the infield making several uncharacteristic misplays, only two of the five runs Saunders yielded in 5 2/3 innings were earned in what turned out to be a controversial 9-8 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. Over his past 30 innings, since returning from a 17-day layoff with tightness in his left shoulder, Saunders has given up just seven earned runs while striking out 20 and walking 10. The Angels are 4-3 against the Yankees, who beat them in New York on Monday in the makeup of an earlier rainout. The Bronx Bombers were swept three straight in Anaheim July 10-12, right before the All-Star break. Saunders will be challenged by a a familiar, smiling face, a man who happens to be carrying one of the game's hottest bats as he returns to one of his former homes. Mark Teixeira is doing for the Yankees what he did for the Angels, not to mention the Braves and Rangers: crushing baseballs and playing superlative defense at first base. "A guy like Tex, you know that he's a great player, but I don't think you can appreciate it as much [until] you see him every day," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "You see all the little things that he does. You might play him in a three-game series and not see those things." The Angels are more than happy with the man who has replaced Teixeira: Kendry Morales has delivered a tremendous season in his first shot at playing every day. While nobody knows Morales' ceiling, Teixeira is a mystery to no one. He has been a force in both leagues, for four franchises. Among those lobbying for Teixeira's Most Valuable Player candidacy is CC Sabathia, who also came to the Bronx to enrich the Yankees this season at no small cost to the Steinbrenners. "Just the runs he saves on defense, making every play over there at first," Sabathia said. "That alone I think deserves votes for the MVP, if you look at what he's been doing, defensively -- never mind the 37 homers and leading the league in RBIs." For the third time this season, Teixeira homered from both sides of the plate on Saturday in Seattle; it was his fourth multi-homer game of the season. "For me, it's just being consistent," Teixeira said. "I think that's what I've been the proudest of in my career, that I've been consistent. "You look at my career averages, and I'm a little bit above or a little bit below every category every year of my career. Fluctuations happen, but I just feel like I came in here with the same mindset that I've had every single year, and I've had the same kind of season." When Teixeira, needing a double on Saturday for a cycle, launched his second homer, he said he took some ribbing from teammates for being an "overachiever." Few players are as good-natured off the field as Teixeira, who is all business between the lines. "We're happy with where we are right now, but this part of the season, we're really looking for a lot more," Teixeira said. "We want to play very good baseball to end the season out; [we'll] hopefully win the division, but everybody in here has very high expectations for this team. No one is satisfied right now." Pitching matchupLAA: LHP Joe Saunders (13-7, 4.75 ERA)
Saunders carried a shutout into the sixth inning at Fenway Park on Wednesday night when his defense unraveled behind him, causing three of the five runs by the Red Sox in the inning to be unearned. Saunders departed after 5 2/3 innings having yielded eight hits and three walks while striking out five hitters. He has surrendered seven earned runs in the past 30 innings, covering five starts, for a 2.10 ERA. Saunders is 6-3 with a 4.29 ERA in 14 home starts and 1-1 with a 7.97 ERA in four career outings against the Yankees. NYY: LHP Andy Pettitte (13-6, 4.14 ERA)
The Yankees skipped Pettitte one turn through the rotation to allow him to rest an aching left shoulder, which started to bother him during a Sept. 11 start against the Orioles in New York. Pettitte said that it is not the general pain and weakness that hindered him in the second half in 2008, but with the Yankees' healthy lead in the American League East, he did not hesitate to report the shoulder and sit out a start. Pettitte faced the Angels on July 11 at Anaheim and took a loss, allowing six runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Tidbits
Howard Kendrick, who had 12 homers in 945 Major League at-bats coming into the season, delivered his 10th of 2009, a two-run shot, on Sunday in his 346th at-bat of the season. Kendrick also had a three-run triple in Sunday's game. ... Teixeira is 2-for-12 in his career against Saunders. In his return to Anaheim in July, Tex struggled, going 2-for-14 with four strikeouts and no walks. Both hits were singles, and he didn't drive in a run. ... Alex Rodriguez is 5-for-10 with a homer and three RBIs against Saunders. ... Mike Napoli, who figures to be behind the plate with Saunders on the mound, is 5-for-9 (.556) against Pettitte. Vladimir Guerrero is a .400 hitter against Pettitte in 20 at-bats with two doubles and no homers. Gary Matthews Jr., who delivered a go-ahead, opposite-field homer on Sunday against lefty Derek Holland, is a .346 career hitter against Pettitte in 26 at-bats. Tickets
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• Tuesday: Angels (Ervin Santana, 7-8, 5.43) vs. Yankees (Chad Gaudin, 5-10, 4.81), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Wednesday: Angels (Scott Kazmir, 9-8, 5.08) vs. Yankees (A.J. Burnett, 11-9, 4.22), 12:35 p.m. PT
• Thursday: Off-day
Lyle Spencer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
