3 Yankees Plus Axford, Bailey, and Hanson Among 43 Non-Tendered

Adams' lack of hits led to lack of a team

43 players will be looking for new organizations after they were non-tendered by their current teams on Monday. Among them are former Milwaukee Brewers closer John Axford, Red Sox reliever and former AL Rookie of the year Andrew Bailey, Blue Jays slugging catcher J.P. Arencibia, and Angels starter Tommy Hanson.

The Yankees did not offer deals to infielder David Adams, untility infielder Jayson Nix, and reliever Matt Daley. Adams was a successful hitter in the minor leauges and the Yankees had been really high on his bat. With all the injuries the Yankees suffered in 2013, Adams got a chance to play in 43 games, but the results were not good.

In 152 plate appearances, the natural second baseman had a slash line of .193/.252./.286. His struggles may have been complicated by the mental and physical acuity needed to learn a new position (third base).

Nix is a hard nosed player, who unfortunately, doesn't have many hits in his bat. The six-year veteran stole 13 bases in 14 attempts and played stellar defense, but posted a .619 OPS. He became expendable when the Yankees signed Brendan Ryan.

Daley was called up from Triple-A Scranton when the Yankees piching staff was beset by injuries. He appeared in seven games, won one, and did not allow a run in six innings pitched.

Below is the complete list of the players that were non-tendered via mlbtraderumors.com

David Adams Yankees
J.P. Arencibia Blue Jays
Scott Atchison Mets
Dylan Axelrod White Sox
John Axford Cardinals
Andrew Bailey Red Sox
Daniel Bard Cubs
Ronald Belisario Dodgers
Mitchell Boggs Rockies
Matt Carson Indians
Tyler Cloyd Indians
Chris Coghlan Marlins
Matt Daley Yankees
Sam Fuld Rays
Eddie Gamboa Orioles
Mat Gamel Cubs
Chris Getz Royals
J.C. Gutierrez Angels
Tommy Hanson Angels
Jeremy Hefner Mets
Daniel Hudson Diamondbacks
Paul Janish Braves
Elliot Johnson Braves
Garrett Jones Pirates
Ryan Kalish Red Sox
Chang-Yong Lim Cubs
Lou Marson Indians
Cristhian Martinez Braves
Michael McKenry Pirates
Kyle McPherson Pirates
Chris Nelson Angels
Jayson Nix Yankees
Xavier Paul Reds
Francisco Peguero Giants
Jason Pridie Orioles
Omar Quintanilla Mets
Derrick Robinson Reds
Sandy Rosario Giants
Justin Turner Mets
Jordany Valdespin Mets
Ryan Webb Marlins
Jerome Williams Angels
Wesley Wright Rays

Red Sox Lose Ross, Close to Gaining Hanrahan

The Yankees aren't the only AL East team who will enter 2013 with a different right fielder. Free agent Cody Ross, who signed a one year deal with Boston prior to last season, has agreed to a three-year, $26MM deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Ross will join his 7th organization in 10 seasons and will nearly triple the annual salary he earned ($3MM) last season. The Red Sox were expected to lose Ross and had signed Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes in the meantime to add depth to their outfield.

It appears the Red Sox will also be shaking up their bullpen, which struggled last year. ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes reported earlier that the Sox were close to acquire closer Joel Hanrahan from the Pittsburgh Pirates. No word on who the Pirates would get back.

The 31-year old went from making the league minimum to $4.1MM last season and has averaged 38 saves the last two years. He enters his third year of arbitration eligibility and should get a substantial increase from 2012.

The Red Sox acquired Andrew Bailey from the Oakland A's prior to last season for outfielder Josh Reddick and two minor leaguers. The move backfired when Bailey injured his thumb in spring training and pitched in just 19 games. Meanwhile, Reddick hit 32 home runs, drove in 85 runs, and won his first Gold Glove. The Sox could move Bailey to a set up role or use him in deal to land another part. The former AL Rookie of the Year is in his first year of arbitration eligibility after he earned $3.9MM last season.

Either move for Bailey stinks for me since I have him as a cheap closer in my keeper league. :/

Earlier this week the Red Sox also brought in free agent shortstop Stephen Drew, younger brother of former Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew. The younger Drew was on the verge of stardom with the Diamondbacks when he suffered a severely broken ankle in 2011. He's struggled to regain his health and offensive form since then, but the Red Sox reportedly agreed to a one year, $9.5MM deal pending a physical.

A physical is apparently what has kept the Red Sox from officially signing Mike Napoli. The two sides had originally agreed to a three-year, $39MM deal, but the Sox are reportedly concerned about a hip issue and are back to negotiating with Napoli on a possible shorter, less expensive deal.

Aceves Latest to Lose Battle With Valentine

Who's pitching the 9th?

Adrian Gonzalez was front and center of a mini-revolution in Boston a week ago. Reportedly, 17 players wanted manager Bobby Valentine fired and Gonzalez was one of the players pushed to the forefront to approach owner John Henry. The Sox principle owner told the players that Valentine's his man and a week later Gonzalez was shipped to the LA Dodgers as part of a blockbuster deal. Victory to Valentine.

Though his job could still be in jeopardy, the team backed Valentine again yesterday when reliever Al Aceves was suspended three games for conduct detrimental to the team.

What reportedly set Aceves off was Valentine's decision to let Andrew Bailey close out Friday night's game. Bailey had entered the game in the 8th inning to record the final out of the frame and remained in the game to record his first save of the season.

Bailey had been acquired in the off-season to be the Red Sox closer, but injured his thumb in spring training, underwent surgery, and didn't return to the team until recently. After a shaky start, Aceves established himself as the team's 9th inning guy and saved 25 games in 32 attempts. His most recent appearance was Thursday night when he allowed five runs in an inning of work (plus two batters faced in the 10th) and took the loss.

Aceves got into a heated argument with Valentine in the manager's office and stormed away. No word on whether or not Valentine has decided to use Bailey going forward or if it was just a one shot deal for the time being.

Bigger question...how did Al Aceves go from throwing 90-91 mph as a Yankee from 2008-2010, to suddenly throwing his fastball from 95-96 mph. Fueled by anger?

Yankees Get Burnt To A Crisp

The first rule of Baseball Club is that you DO discuss Baseball Club. The second rule is you don't give up home runs to Coco Crisp. The Yankees didn't abide by the latter and it cost them dearly in a 6-4 loss to the Oakland A's Wednesday night.

Crisp had already hit a solo home run off starter CC Sabathia when he unloaded a 3-run monster off of Rafael Soriano in the 10th inning to snap a 3-3 tie. Crisp entered the game with just three home runs in 469 plate appearances this season, but looked like the second coming of Babe Ruth (if Babe Ruth had a piercing in the side of his neck) in the Bronx.

The Yankees failed big time with runners in scoring position for the second straight night, had a rare bad night from the bullpen, and have allowed 12 runs in 19 innings of the series thus far to the normally anemic hitting A's. Despite the Yankees' failure in the clutch, thanks to a Nick Swisher home run and a Derek Jeter RBI single, they still maintained a 2-1 lead entering the 8th inning. But Kurt Suzuki led off the frame with a single, moved to second on a sac bunt, and scored the tying run on a Scott Sizemore double. That would be the last batter Sabathia would face. 8th inning man David Robertson came on and walked Jemile Weeks and then gave up a go ahead single to Crisp.

The lead was short lived as Mark Teixeira evened things up in the bottom of the inning with his 35th home run of the season, off of reliever Grant Balfour. Soriano who has been so good since coming off the DL, gave up back to back one out singles in the 10th before striking out Weeks. That brought up Crisp, who hit a no doubt about it shot to right to put a damper on the Yankees' night.

Swisher his his second home run of the game with two out in the 10th off of Andrew Bailey, but the A's closer picked up the save when he struck out Andruw Jones for the game's final out.

Notes

The Yankees were reportedly awarded a claim on Cubs' first baseman Carlos Pena, but Chicago is not expected to move him. GM Brian Cashman would not comment on the situation.

The A's won a series with the Yankees for the first time since 2007.

The Yankees had owned Trevor Cahill prior to last night. The right-hander was 0-4, 13.50 ERA in his previous starts. But the Yankees, who were 2-20 with RISP Tuesday night, were 1-8 last night. The worst failure came in the 7th inning when the Eduardo Nunez doubled and Francisco Cervelli followed with a bunt single. Reliever Brian Fuentes retired Brett Gardner on a pop up, Derek Jeter on a line out, and Curtis Granderson on a fly ball.

FullCountPitch - The Full Count: Susan Slusser

Susan Slusser talks about the stumbling A's

Susan Slusser has been on the Oakland A’s beat for 13 years for the San Francisco Chronicle. Who better to talk to about Bob Geren’s firing, Brett Anderson’s clipped wing, and more? You can also follow Susan and the A’s on Twitter.

FCP: With Bob Geren fired, are there any names being mentioned to take over in 2012 and does Bob Melvin have a legitimate shot to get the full time job?

Susan Slusser: I believe the A’s would give Melvin every opportunity to show he’s the man for the job; indications were that this was the guy they wanted and the front office believes Melvin to be a good fit. He’d probably have to really fall flat on his face not to come back, especially considering how well the players speak of him. Player relations and communications seemed to drive some of the managerial switch, and Melvin’s reputatution as a players’ manager was mentioned numerous times.

Don Wakamatsu was very highly regarded when he was Oakland’s bench coach, so I’d have to think in the unlikely chance that the A’s don’t retain Melvin that he’d be among those considered. Like Melvin, he’s a former Seattle manager and a Bay Area native; Wakamatsu is from Hayward and Melvin from Menlo Park. But I’m fairly certain the A’s have their man.

Read the rest of this free article at FullCountPitch.com

David DeJesus Brett Anderson Trevor Cahill Andrew Bailey Hideki Matsui Cliff Pennington Kurt Suzuki

BD Spring Training Report: Doctor Doctor, Gimme The (AL) News | Baseball Digest

BD Spring Training Report: Doctor Doctor, Gimme The (AL) News | Baseball Digest

With opening day just two weeks away it is time to take a look at the injury situation around Major League Baseball, starting with the American League. First though, well wishes to Atlanta Braves coach and former Major Leaguer Luis Salazar, who lost his left eye after being struck by a Brian McCann line drive last week.

Salazar, who played for the 1984 pennant winning San Diego Padres, was leaning on the railing at the top of the dugout when he was struck. Thankfully, no brain damage occurred, but his left eye was removed Tuesday after undergoing three surgeries in attempt to save it.

AL East

Baltimore: What would a season be without Brian Roberts having some kind of physical issue? This spring it’s been his back acting up after a head first slide into 1st base tweaked something. Buck Showalter told MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli that Roberts has a 50/50 chance of playing this weekend. First year Oriole Derrek Lee has yet to see game action due to tendinitis in his right wrist, but may also play this weekend. Pitcher Koji Uehara (sore elbow) is scheduled for a bullpen session, while catcher Craig Tatum’s fight to be the back up to Matt Wieters continues to be delayed by a sore oblique. Free agent pick up Justin Duchscherer is still a couple of days away from throwing as he continues to recover from hip surgery.

Boston: J.D. Drew was considering retirement earlier this year, but his nagging left hamstring inury feels great now and he’s ready to split outfield time with Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron.

New York: Joba Chamberlain is out indefinitely, but Sergio Mitre has begun to throw again after both suffered strained obliques. Francisco Cervelli has, for the moment at least, lost the back up catching job after he fractured his foot on March 2. He’ll be out until mid-April.

Tampa Bay: Reliever J.P. Howell is not expected back in the majors until May as he continues to rehab from shoulder surgery. Shortstop Reid Brignac missed some time last week with a sore groin, but is back in action. Jeremy Hellickson finally pitched in a game last Friday after missing time with a bad hammy.

Toronto: It’s slow and steady for possible closer Frank Francisco after his right pec tightened up on him while throwing. Having thrown in only two games this spring it is not likely Francisco will be ready for the season opener. That means Jon Rauch or Jason Frasor could open the season as closer. New manager John Farrell told the Toronto Sun, “While warming up in his last scheduled outing he felt some tightness in his right pec. He came in yesterday, threw long toss and another 15 pitches off the mound. He improved as far as the feeling goes but we’re going to work him through some long toss and continue on the flat ground.”

“We feel like if we can get him three or four games (additional) before we leave camp he’ll be fine. He’s not overly concerned or overly alarmed. He feels this is a spring training aches and pains type thing that he’s going through. The red flag is not up per se with Frankie.” The Blue Jays could also be without reliever Octavio Dotel who has been shutdown with a bad hamstring. Farrell also announced that former starter Dustin McGowan will work out of the bullpen when, and if, he’s ready to come back from a pair of shoulder surgeries. The one time highly regarded prospect hasn’t thrown in a Major League game since 2008. 2nd Baseman Aaron Hill has been slowed by a quad injury, but should be ready for opening day.

AL Central

Chicago: Jake Peavy continues his come back from last year’s surgery to repair a torn latissimus dorsi muscle. After his last start on Monday, Peavy told ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla that he would be ready to go when the season starts. He may miss his next start though with a virus. Dayan Viciedo suffered a broken thumb when he was hit by a pitch on March 10 and is likely out a month.

Cleveland: Grady Sizemore hopes to make his spring training game debut this weekend or Monday. Sliding is the final piece of the puzzle in his recovery from microfracture knee surgery. Since that’s how he hurt the knee, he is concerned. “It’s probably the last thing we’re going to try out,” Sizemore told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. “Obviously, it’s a little bit of a concern — since that’s how I hurt it, and the fact that it’s the leg that I’ll be landing on. We’ll want to do what we can to protect that in any way we can.”

Catching sensation Carlos Santana seems to be full recovered from his left knee surgery, but the Tribe is playing it cautious just the same. It has included playing Santana at 1st base, something the The Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes spoke to manager Manny Acta about. “It’s all about Carlos getting more at bats,” said manager Manny Acta. “We wanted get him as many at bats as possible, but with him coming back from surgery, you can’t throw him back behind the plate every day.

Outfielder Trevor Crowe has been bothered by a fatigued rotator cuff all spring, but hopes to test it out by throwing tomorrow. The injury has already cost him an extra outfield spot on the Major League roster. Pitcher Anthony Reyes made his spring debut this week after having Tommy John surgery back in 2009.

Detroit: The Tigers official website reported Monday that both infielder/outfielder Carlos Guillen and reliever Joel Zumaya will start the season on the DL. Guillen is still recovering from knee surgery, while Zumaya has been slow in coming back from elbow surgery.

Kansas City: Jason Kendall continues his rehab from off-season right shoulder surgery; he’s played in a couple of games, but is likely to start the season on the DL.

Minnesota: Closer Joe Nathan continues his comeback from last year’s Tommy John surgery. He’s appeared in six spring games so far, and although the results have not been good (5.1 IP 6 H 6 ER), he’s feeling good. If Nathan’s struggles continue into the regular season, manager Ron Gardenhire will simply go to Matt Capps to close. 1st Baseman Justin Morneau is seeing regular time after returning from lingering concussion symptoms. Catcher Joe Mauer appeared in his first spring game yesterday as the DH after sitting out due to off-season left knee surgery. The Twins M&M boys are expected to be ready to go on opening day.

Michael Cuddyer could play in his first spring game tomorrow after having a wart removed from his foot three weeks ago.

AL West

Los Angeles: Free agent Scott Downs was supposed to bolster the Angels bullpen, but he’s out indefinitely after breaking his toe on Saturday. The injury occurred while he was playing with his kids. 1st baseman Kendry Morales, who infamously broke his leg last season after hitting a game winning home run, has yet to play in a game this season. In fact, he’s yet to run the bases and is not likely to be ready for opening day. “He’s going to get his work in here and tomorrow he’s back out there on the progression,” Mike Scioscia told the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett on Wednesday. “He’s moving forward. He still has some things he has to do before he gets in games and running the bases is one of them.”

Oakland: A’s closer and former AL Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey is out indefinitely with a strained elbow. Bailey left Monday’s game in excruciating pain and paid a visit to renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews. Bailey and the A’s were relieved to find out it was just scar tissue that was causing the pain and the reliever should be able to begin throwing again next week. It’s unknown though if he’ll be ready for the season opener. If that’s the case, manager Bob Geren would use Brian Fuentes as closer.

Oft-injured Rich Harden has been out with a strained lat, but according to the SF Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, is scheduled to resume throwing tomorrow. Harden will start the season on the DL as will infielder Adam Rosales who is out until May after having foot surgery. Lefty specialist Craig Breslow is also questionable for opening day as he recovers from a hamstring strain.

Seattle: Closer David Aardsma has thrown on flat ground three times in his rehab from hip surgery, but has yet to step on a mound. Brandon League is expected to be the interim Mariners closer once the season start, though skipper Eric Wedge hasn’t announced his decision. New starting catcher Miguel Olivo missed two weeks with a strained groin, but caught a bullpen session yesterday, and barring a setback, should be ready for the M’s opener. Lefty NatE. Robertson will be out a month after hvaing arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow yesterday.

Texas: Nothing significant to note; a nice way to start 2011 for the defending AL champions.

Yankes Polish Off A's Again

Here's my recap from game I covered for BaseballDigest.com.

A.J. Burnett may not have been pitching for his rotation spot, as Joe Girardi stated during his pre-game press conference, but a winless August had to have the tall right-hander concerned. Wednesday night he gave his manager six solid innings as the Yankees won their fifth straight, 4-3 over the Oakland A’s.

People talk about the great A.J., the good A.J., and the bad A.J.; tonight each made an appearance. But unlike that winless August, Burnett hung tough, finishing strong in his final inning and, in the process, gave the Yankees some length from their starter. Had it not been for a rested bullpen, Girardi said he most likely would have sent Burnett out for the 7th inning. Burnett said afterwards he can’t worry about “What the manager is saying/doing concerning the rotation. I just need to go out and do my job.”

Click here to read the rest of this always free story.

There's Life After the World Series

As you may have noticed (hopefully someone noticed), I haven't done to much blogging since the World Series ended. I need to catch up some things, including sleep. A lot has been going on since the Series ended - baseball no longer goes to the back pages when the season ends. And with the way the Giants and Rangers have been playing, it's better to dwell on the 27th championship and the 2010 Yankees season. (If you're a Knicks or Nets fan, you've probably already started counting the hours, minutes, and seconds until Spring Training).

Let's start with some hardware, the non-27th championship type :)

As expected Joe Mauer cruised to the American League MVP trophy earlier today. Yankees Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. Mauer got all but one first place vote, with 4th place finisher Miguel Cabrera inexplicably picking up the lone dissenting vote. This is the same Cabrera who got loaded the night before a huge game with the White Sox as the Tigers crumbled down the stretch. Apparently one sportswriter must have drinking when he put in his/her ballot.

Here's the total vote count for Mauer and the top five finishers.
Mauer 387
Teixeira 225
Jeter 193
Cabrera 171
K. Morales 170

Mauer became just the second catcher in the last 23 years to win the award. Teixeira had been our pre-season prediction.

Alex Rodriguez (10th), Mariano Rivera (14), Robinson Cano (17) and CC Sabathia (21) were the other Yankees to receive votes.

Awards already announced:

The Managers of the Year were the Angels' Mike Scioscia (whom I correctly predicted would take the award) and the Rockies Jim Tracy. I expected the Angels to run away with the AL West, but Scioscia had to really do a great job this year to overcome injuries and the death of Nick Adenhardt. Joe Girardi finished 3rd behind Scioscia and Ron Gardenhire.

Tracey meanwhile took a slumping Rockies squad to the NL wild card. (Our Spring Training pick was a sentimental one- Bobby Cox. He finished 5th in the voting.).

Rookie of the Year honors in the AL went to the A's (and New Jersey's) Andrew Bailey, who grabbed the team's closer role. The Marlins' Chris Coghlan took the NL award. I had predicted prior to the season that Baltimore's Matt Wieters and the Cards' Jason Motte would pick up the awards. Neither received a vote, though Wieters did finish the season in strong fashion.

Bailey's fellow NJ native, Rick Porcello, came in the 3rd in the AL voting.

2009 AL roy voting

Player	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Andrew Bailey	13	6	5	88
Elvis Andrus	8	6	7	65
Rick Porcello	7	8	5	64
Jeff Niemann	x	5	6	21
Gordon Beckham	x	2	4	10
Brett Anderson	x	1	1	4

2009 nl roy voting

Player	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Chris Coghlan	17	6	2	105
J.A. Happ	10	11	11	94
Tommy Hanson	2	6	9	37
Andrew McCutchen	2	5	x	25
Casey McGehee	1	3	4	18
Randy Wells	x	1	x	3
Garrett Jones	x	x	2	2
Everth Cabrera	x	x	1	1
Dexter Fowler	x	x	1	1
Gerardo Parra	x	x	1	1
Colby Rasmus	x	x	1	1

The AL Cy Young went to KC's Zack Greinke. The Royals managed just 65 wins this season, with nearly a quarter of them (16) won by Greinke. Only Steve Carlton's 27 wins on a 59-win team may have been more impressive. Our pre-season pick CC Sabathia, finished fourth in the voting.

The National League award went to Tim Lincecum for the second consecutive season. I personally felt that Chris Carpenter would win the award. I mistakenly chose Johan Santana prior to the start of the season. Boy, that was a mistake.

AL Cy Young Award Voting

Player	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
Zack Greinke, KC	25	3		134
Felix Hernandez, SEA	2	23	1	80
Justin Verlander, DET	1		9	14
CC Sabathia, NYY		2	7	13
Roy Halladay, TOR			11	11

NL Cy Young Award Voting

Player	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts.
Tim Lincecum, SF	11	12	9	100
Chris Carpenter, STL	9	14	7	94
Adam Wainwright, STL	12	5	15	90
Javier Vazquez, ATL		1		3
Dan Haren, ARI			1	1

The NL MVP will be announced tomorrow with Albert Pujols to pick up another momento for his trophy case. Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard should finish 2-3.

Revenge is Best Served Cold

Tomko Exacts His Revenge

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: a.j. burnett • Alex Rodriguez • Andrew Bailey • Brett Tomko • Mark Ellis • Oakland Athletics • Scott Hairston • Yankees 8/17 recap • Yankees vs. A's

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	7	0
Oakland	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	X		3	6	0

WP - Tomko (2-2) SV - Bailey (18) LP - Burnett (10-6)

Let’s not beat around the bush, Brett Tomko was, is, and will always be a mediocre pitcher. The Yankees finally came to that realization on July 21 and designated Tomko for assignment. He wasn’t happy. Last night, Tomko got a measure of revenge, tossing 5 scoreless innings in a 3-0 Oakland A’s win over the Yankees. It was Tomko’s first win since July 4…when he was a Yankee.

Don’t be mistaken, the Yankees had their opportunities against their former teammate, but couldn’t cash in. Mark Teixeira laced a 2-out double in the 1st, but was stranded when Alex Rodriguez flew out. Birthday boy (38) Jorge Posada led off the 2nd inning with a single, but got no further than 1st base. Derek Jeter and Ramiro Pena started the 3rd with consecutive singles and moved up a base on Johnny Damon’s fly out. But after a walk to Teixeira, A-Rod bounced into an inning ending 1-2-3 double play.

A.J. Burnett breezed through the first three innings, but after getting the lead off man in the 4th, ran into trouble. Rajai Davis doubled, stole 3rd base, and scored on Kurt Suzuki’s single. Scott Hairston followed with a single and the runners moved up on a ground out. That’s when Burnett decided to hold on to the baseball. The only problem was that he was already in his delivery. The balk made it a 2-0 game.

From Josh Dubow, AP: “We got crossed up with the signs,” Burnett said. “He wanted a fastball in and I thought I was throwing a curve away. When I saw him move it messed me up. There was no way I could throw that pitch.”

Mark Ellis‘ RBI double finished off the scoring for the inning and for the evening. Burnett went the distance, his 100th pitch being his last. But the Yankees offense was flat and quickly went in order in the 9th against closer Andrew Bailey.

Game Notes

The Yankees 14-game homer streak came to an end. It was the longest streak since a 16-game streak in 1994. It was the 4th time this season the Yankees have been blanked.

Nick Swisher has reached base safely in 26 straight games.

The series continues tonight with CC Sabathia facing Vin Mazzaro.