Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Yankees (72-50) @ WhiteSox (66-55), Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 8:10pm
NYY:Ivan Nova (25, RHP, 11-6, 4.76) vs. CHW:Francisco Liriano (28, LHP, 4-10, 5.22)
Lineups
New York
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Andruw Jones LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Jayson Nix 3B
Casey McGehee DH
Russell Martin C
Chicago
Dewayne Wise CF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Adam Dunn DH
Paul Konerko 1B
Alex Rios RF
A.J. Pierzynski C
Dayan Viciedo LF
Alexei Ramirez SS
Gordon Beckham 2B
The White Sox are still probably favorites to win their division, but if they don’t the wild card implications for this game could be huge. The Yankees are not going to win the AL East, but they have a slight chance at capturing the second wild card and if they get exceedingly lucky and everyone else falters they could even sneak into the first wild card spot.
The Yankees have gone 2-3 against the White Sox this year with two games vs. them remaining, so losing tonight clinches the season series for Chicago. That may end up being a tie-breaker if the White Sox are the other wild card and finish with the same record, which means the location of the play-in game could very well be determined by the results of tonight’s game.
If only Ivan Nova wasn’t pitching. I’ve given up on my belief that he’s been unlucky for large parts of this season. The fact is, no pitcher in the AL has allowed more extra-base hits this year, and I can’t just hand wave that away anymore.
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