NewsHome field on Yankees' minds
New York (85-48) at Toronto (59-73), 7:07 p.m. ET
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
09/03/09 1:18 AM ET
BALTIMORE -- The Yankees would rather be home. Not for this four-game series at Rogers Centre, mind you, but come the postseason. Having won six straight to polish off both the White Sox and the Orioles, the Yankees travel to Toronto thinking about the bigger picture, even though they can't overlook a Blue Jays team still playing for pride. Owning the best record in the Major Leagues at 85-48 heading into Thursday's series opener, the Yankees have the advantage of a 7 1/2-game cushion over the Red Sox in the American League East to allow them to ponder the benefits of home-field advantage. "We're trying. That's the idea," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "You try to do that in September, and that's why you try to win every game. You worry about that day. You don't do anything crazy and you don't push people too hard, but you worry about that day." If the season were to end Thursday, the Yankees would play the Tigers in the first round of the AL Division Series, while the Angels would face off against the AL Wild Card-winning Red Sox. "It's too far to think about, but we definitely want [home-field advantage]," Johnny Damon said. "We're going to keep plugging away and keep playing hard. We feel like if we relax a little bit, it could definitely hurt us down the stretch. "We're going to keep plugging, and we have depth right now that we can keep guys fresh. There's still a lot of games that we need to win." Of course, the Yankees can keep leaning on their power bats, which they'll showcase once more in the shadows of the CN Tower. The Yankees are the only club in the Majors with six players having at least 20 home runs, and have eight players with at least 50 RBIs. "This is how the team was made," Damon said. "Everyone was questioning all the home runs we were hitting. Well, look at our team -- we hit home runs everywhere. Top to bottom and on our bench, we have depth that not too many other teams do have." So while the Yankees aren't exactly keeping up with the Angels' record day to day, they are aware that they're up. Needless to say, if there is a cross-country flight that can be avoided, they'd love to. "The first thing is to make the playoffs, the second thing is to win your division and the third thing is home-field advantage," Girardi said. "If you can get them all, it's really important." Pitching matchupNYY: RHP Chad Gaudin (5-10, 4.90 ERA)
Gaudin will slot in to make a spot start for the Yankees on Thursday to open a four-game weekend series at Rogers Centre. Gaudin was inserted after Sergio Mitre suffered a bruised right forearm courtesy of a line drive in his last start, leading the Yankees to be cautious. This will be Gaudin's second start since being acquired by the Yankees, having given New York 4 1/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit ball with five walks and five strikeouts on Aug. 19 in Oakland. TOR: LHP Ricky Romero (11-6, 3.95 ERA)
Romero yielded 13 baserunners over 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball last Saturday in a loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Despite an 0-3 record and 8.83 ERA in four career starts against the Sox, the rookie left-hander is 11-3 with a 3.24 ERA when the opposition is not from Boston. In a pair of outings against the Yankees this season, Romero is 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA. Tidbits
Mark Teixeira, who rested on Wednesday, has now hit at least 30 home runs and driven in 100 runs in each of the past six seasons, joining Albert Pujols as the only big leaguers to reach the plateau over that stretch. .... Teixeira's 100th RBI came in his 126th game of the season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only four players reached the 100-RBI plateau in fewer games into their Yankees career -- Babe Ruth in 1920 (97), Joe DiMaggio in 1936 (102), Roger Maris in 1960 (118) and Tony Lazzeri in 1926 (125). ... Outfielder Shelley Duncan was named the International League MVP, and outfielder Austin Jackson was the International League's Rookie of the Year. Catcher Austin Romine won the Florida State League's Player of the Year. ... Derek Jeter needs eight hits to tie Lou Gehrig for first place on the Yankees' all-time list with 2,721 hits. Tickets
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• Friday: Yankees (Joba Chamberlain, 8-4, 4.38) at Blue Jays (Roy Halladay, 13-8, 3.13), 7:07 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Yankees (Andy Pettitte, 12-6, 4.03) at Blue Jays (Brett Cecil, 6-3, 5.42), 1:07 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Yankees (Sergio Mitre, 3-1, 5.65) at Blue Jays (Brian Tallet, 5-9, 5.17), 1:07 p.m. ET
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
