Not so fast, the lineup is out, let's break it down.
Delino DeShields Jr.(R) CF
Shin-Soo Choo(L) RF
Prince Fielder(L) DH
Adrian Beltre(R) 3B
Mitch Moreland(L) 1B
Elvis Andrus(R) SS
Adam Rosales(R) 2B
Carlos Corporan(S) C
Jake Smolinski(R) LF
Bypass DeShields for a second.
Choo is an auto out batting second.
He's a lefty bat, that has never demonstrated he can't hit LHP.
I don't even have to go to the splits to tell you he can't hit LHP. I bet you he's .150 lifetime vs. LHP.
CC is harsh on LH batters, Prince will not get his nut off today.
Beltre has been batting against CC for a decade, and hasn't done jack shit off of CC either.
The guy (believe it or not) that can hurt him is Andrus, righty stick.
And they are going to need Deshields to get on, he owns a nice OBA, so he's capable.
There are too many holes in the Rangers lineup.
Yanks are amongst the league leader in making opposing pitchers work.
They work the count as well as any team, so they will probably take Nicky deep into the count, forcing him to throw 80 pitches by the fifth.
Look at Martinez last start, 103 pitches in five full innings. Five walks.
Start before that, 101 pitches, 6.1 innings, start before that one, 80 pitches, 4.2 innings.
Therefore, more than likely you're going to have to go to the Rangers bullpen, and they aren't good.
27th out of 30th. And Yanks bullpen is amongst the league leaders.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/...hing/split/128
Also, you have to factor in who is available out of the bullpen.
Freeman got hammered in relief yesterday, so did Scheleppers in a 10-9 win.
Remember, Martinez is only a 6 inning pitcher.
Not to mention The Yanks big three relievers are ready, Betnances and Miller weren't used at all yesterday, and CC is a 7th inning pitcher.
Now regrading Brian Knight.
This is his 7th HPU assignment this year, and yes he rotates from 1B ump last night to HPU today, and his K/BB ratio calling balls and strikes is 2.83, or pretty much there will be on the average of 9 K's and 3 BB's a game when he's umpiring, so his zone is tight.
Now having said all that, -163 on the Yanks is very high, +153 is tempting, bullpen will make or break the game, and Texas doesn't have it today.
PASS for me