NewsRain wipes out Yankees-Rays opener
Heavy rains blanket area; no makeup date announcedBy Anthony DiComo / MLB.com
06/05/09 5:27 PM ET
NEW YORK -- The anticipated matchup between two of the game's most dynamic lefthanders will have to wait. Friday evening's game between the Yankees and Rays was postponed due to rain. The teams did not announce a makeup date, but they will not play a doubleheader Saturday.CC Sabathia and David Price will square off for the Yankee and Rays on Saturday afternoon.
Heavy rains, which had gusted over the Bronx for most of the day Friday, were expected to continue deep into the night. That prompted the Yankees to postpone the game roughly three hours before its scheduled first pitch, and allowed manager Joe Girardi to shuffle his rotation.
Andy Pettitte will jump ahead of A.J. Burnett in the rotation and start Monday's game against the Rays. That means that Burnett, who has had a long history of success in his career against the Red Sox, will start Tuesday's series opener in Boston. Joba Chamberlain and Chien-Ming Wang will remain in their regular spots, pitching Sunday and Wednesday, respectively.
"We just like the way our rotation sets up a little bit better this way," Girardi said. "And it doesn't disrupt everyone."
Chamberlain, who would have pitched against the Red Sox, will instead miss that series. But that's a small sacrifice in order to pitch Burnett -- who is 5-0 lifetime with a 3.52 ERA against the Sox -- in Boston.
Burnett did suffer through a poor outing at Fenway Park in his Yankees debut there, allowing eight runs in five innings on April 25.
Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
