Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (9-11) @ New York Yankees (11-10)

Starters: LAA – Anthony Ortega (0-1, 7.20 ERA)  NYY – A.J. Burnett (2-0, 5.47 ERA)

Game Info: 4:05 PM PT TV-FS West, Radio-KLAA 830 AM, KFWB, KWKW 1330 AM

This will be a series of first.  The first time this season the Angels have a winning streak.  The first time Bobby Abreu will face the Yankees since signing with the Angels.  The first time Mark Teixeira plays against the Angels since he stabbed them in the back signed with the Yankees.  The first time the Angels play at the new Yankee Stadium.

New Yankee  Stadium

It will probably also be the first time in recent memory that these two franchises have played each other with neither team being first or even second in their respective divisions.  Both teams have gotten off to rough starts and are missing their marquee players (A-Rod and Vlad), so beating a traditional contender could be a major boost to whichever team comes out on top in this four-game set.

Going tonight for the Yanks will be one of their big money free agent pitchers, A.J. Burnett.  The Angels will counter with the exact opposite, an emergency call-up from Triple-A, Anthony Ortega, making his second major league start.

Anthony Ortega

Ortega did not fair well in his major league debut, giving up four earned runs in five innings in a loss against the Mariners.  Nerves were clearly a problem early on for Ortega, so one would hope he is over the debut jitters, but that might be tough to do on a stage like Yankee Stadium, even if it is a new version of that stadium.


What to Watch For:

  • Can any Angel pitchers keep the ball in the park?  New Yankee Stadium is playing like it is on the moon right now, so the homers could be flying.
  • Will the new stadium change the Yankees luck against the Angels who have had their number since the turn of the century.
  • Can Abreu take advantage of the short porch (and jet stream) in right field to bust hist Angel homer cherry?